Cleaning For Infection Prevention: Influenza A

11/17/16 By Dana Szymkowiak

 There are so many outbreaks each year that are cause for concern. Many of these outbreaks, however, can be contained or even prevented if proper cleaning techniques are put into place in your facility. Influenza A is a perfect example. 

The Influenza A (H3N2) is a virus with common flu symptoms including fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headaches, fatigue, and possible vomiting or diarrhea. While some strains of this virus are addressed within the current U.S. vaccine, 58% of cases found in hospitals to date have been attributed to strains that have drifted from those covered by the vaccine. Therefore, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control have warned that vaccine effectiveness could be lowered when in contact with these altered strains. (Source: issa.com)

The common cold, which shares many of the same symptoms (coughing, sneezing, sore throat, runny nose) is an infection by one of more than 200 viruses. 

So what can you do to clean for infection prevention? How can you possibly help prevent these illnesses from invaiding your hospital, school, job site or even your home? Clean. This 5 letter word, is so daunting. Sometimes the last thing you want to do is clean, there is paperwork to be done, patients to take care of, products to be produced. 

We are not going to say that you have to disinfect every single surface in your place of work – because protocols differ in every situation – but think about the high touch surfaces that you pass by daily. Is it a door handle, elevator buttons, or what about your computer’s keyboard? When you disinfect those surfaces, be sure that you use a product that has kill claims for the flu and common cold such as SaniZide Pro®. It offers the following qualities and it is a 2-minute surface disinfectant. You may remember our post on selecting the right disinfectant, and mentioning how important a short contact time can be.

  • Pandemic and Infection Control Product
  • Hospital-Grade, Ready-to-Use EPA Registered Formula
  • Cleans, Disinfects and Deodorizes in One Quick Step
  • No Harmful Bleach, Hydrogen Peroxide or Phenol
  • For Use on All Hard and Soft, Non-Porous Surfaces Normally Treated with a Disinfectant
  • Normal Trash Disposal

When it comes to cleaning effectively, you want to make sure that you are using the right product(s). You may think that you are doing this:

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When you are really doing this:

 

via GIPHY

See what we did there? The last thing that you want to do is to be spending your time cleaning ineffectively. If you are looking for additional information or resources to help you effectively clean and disinfect to prevent the spread of flu and cold viruses please visit the ISSA website at www.issa.com/education/cleaning‐for‐infection‐prevention.