Hygiene and Islam?

According to the Telegraph, "Muslim medical students are refusing to 
obey hygiene rules brought in to stop the spread of deadly superbugs, 
because they say it is against their religion."

The Islamic Medical Association says that covering all the body 
in public is a tenet of Islam, and so the spokesman suggested 
elbow-length disposable gloves.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/03/nislam403.xml

http://tinyurl.com/ys93u4

I doubt that keeping your forearms covered is a tenet of Islam.
It seems more likely that the Koran suggests modesty and over the
centuries the practice has calcified into silly rules about what
can and cannot be displayed.  If these people want to be medics
then hygiene should come before modesty.