Timely insights on whole room disinfection.
HealthcareDecember 19, 2019
Fighting Flu Season: Steps to Disinfect & Eliminate Pathogens
While flu season typically begins to rev up in October and hit its peak between December and February, this year’s 2019-2020 flu season has started earlier than usual in the U.S. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), this year’s flu season began a whole month sooner than normal, and as a result, is anticipated to hit its usual peak ahead of schedule, which is usually in February. Per the CDC’s forecast, the flu has a 45% chance of peaking in December, a 30% chance of peaking in January, and a 20% chance of peaking in February.
However, some regions have been affected this season more than others, with states in the South—such as Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee—reporting the highest influenza-like activity to date. So far, the CDC estimates as many as 2.5 million flu illnesses, 29,000 hospitalizations, and 2,400 deaths have occurred nationwide, demonstrating the severity of this season’s early onset.
As the 2019-2020 flu season kicks off to an earlier start than usual, it’s necessary to know how and where the virus is, as well as which whole room disinfection methods are capable of killing its pathogens. Below are important points to keep in mind when creating a whole room disinfection plan:
1. Where & How It’s Traveling
While Southern states have reported some of the highest levels of flu activity and severity for the 2019-2020 season, other states across the nation are also reporting widespread activity, such as Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Minnesota, and Washington. While these states are showing the most widespread cases of flu, every state has already reported flu activity this season, further demonstrating how this year’s flu season is hitting the U.S. sooner than it has in more than a decade.
But why and how is the flu able to spread so quickly? According to the CDC, the flu virus mainly spreads through tiny droplets of infected human fluids, such as through a cough, sneeze, or simply talking. These droplets can then spread to surfaces where others can easily pick them up since its pathogens can survive on hard surfaces for up to 24 hours and on tissues for up to 15 minutes.
2. Susceptible Environments & Surfaces
Since the spores of the influenza virus are capable of persisting on surfaces for extended periods of time, they can also spread quite easily, allowing them to infect a diverse array of environments. Some of the most common environments for flu pathogens to spread are communal and public environments, such as daycare (childcare) centers, movie theaters, schools, doctors’ offices, stores, malls, and other indoor spaces—even one’s home. Airplanes and cruise ships also include at-risk environments for catching the flu, which is likely due to the frequency in which they are used over the flu season’s peak. After all, a Wall Street Journal article found that an individual has a 20% higher chance of catching a cold on a plane, and that those who sit in aisle seats have a higher risk of contracting the bug.
Regardless of which of the above environments you may need to eliminate flu pathogens in, it’s important to disinfect key surfaces that are known for housing flu pathogens. In such environments, as well as other general spaces, the CDC recommends disinfecting high-touch surfaces like door knobs and handles, desks, countertops, computer keyboards, hands-on learning items, faucet handles, phones, and toys. Additional common public surfaces that have the most germs and should therefore be disinfected include ATMs, shopping carts, shared writing implements, self-checkout terminals at the grocery store, handles, and other surfaces on public transportation. To ensure flu pathogens are eradicated from these surfaces, the CDC recommends using an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered solution effective against the flu.
Fight the Flu in Every Corner
As the flu season continues to intensify, it’s necessary to use a whole room disinfection strategy that is capable of killing contagious flu pathogens no matter where they occur. With our proprietary Halo Disinfection System®, which uniformly delivers our HaloMist™ (EPA Reg. No. 84526-6) via a dry fog, you can rest assured that dangerous flu germs are eradicated from every corner. Plus, our hydrogen peroxide and silver-based formula is safe to use in high traffic areas and around the most delicate of electronic equipment without causing damage—allowing you to protect sensitive equipment and maintain the highest levels of disinfection simultaneously.
Ready to eliminate the influenza pathogens from your environment? Contact Halosil today.