Businesses step up sanitising to stop swine flu

Media release                                                                                                    19 June 2009

Businesses step up sanitising to stop swine flu
 

A nationwide commercial cleaning company has seen a significant increase in the number of workplaces using sanitisation services as they try to prevent the spread of swine flu among employees.

Crest Commercial Cleaning says the requests started in Auckland in early May, when swine flu first hit the headlines, but have since spread nationwide.

“We’ve had existing clients and new businesses from as far away as Auckland and Dunedin ringing up to ask how sanitisation services can help cut the risks of transmission,” says Crest’s Grant McLauchlan.

“The enquiries have come from small and large companies and have increased significantly over the past few days.

“For instance, we’ve had enquiries from companies with more than 50 employees and small professional services firms with only five employees. We had five or six enquiries during the month of May and in one day in June alone, we had the same amount,” says McLauchlan.

Sanitisation was different from normal cleaning, said Mr McLauchlan, as it specifically concentrated on killing bacteria, fungi and viruses that could cause disease.

“A neutral cleaner will remove dirt and soil, but it won’t kill bacteria, fungi and viruses.

“However, a good sanitiser will be effective against influenza viruses, including the swine flu, listeria, salmonella and several other pathogens,” he said.

The sanitiser will kill any bugs present on the surface, and will continue killing new bugs, as they land, for several hours.

A sanitisation service concentrated on areas people commonly touched, to try to slow down transmission of viruses and bacteria, Mr McLauchlan said.

“Where a client wants a sanitisation service on top of their normal cleaning, Crest concentrates on surfaces such as door knobs, door push plates, kitchen areas, taps, microwave ovens, toilet buttons, soap dispensers and other surfaces many people regularly touch.

“These areas so easily become reservoirs for viruses and bacteria, so paying particular attention to them can slow disease transmission down dramatically, saving companies money and time as fewer staff end up ill.”

Ideally these frequently-touched surfaces should be sanitised every day, so pathogens didn’t have a chance to re-infect them.

While charges varied between cleaning companies, Mr McLauchlan said Crest’s sanitisation service cost as little as $5 a day on top of its regular cleaning service – a minimal expense when compared with the cost of absenteeism due to swine flu.

“Just this week (Tuesday), a seafood processing plant has sent all its workers home because two staff contracted swine flu. The costs of closing your company down for several days due to staff illness are huge, and could tip some companies over during times of financial hardship.

“If you can prevent that by increasing hygiene practices, it’s an investment well worth making.”

Mr McLauchlan said the swine flu pandemic had now become a reality, and several businesses were already acting to ensure they minimised the damage to their bottom line.

“Times are tough enough as it is for many businesses, without having to worry about what will happen if half of their staff end up sick at the same time. Thankfully, they can all take steps to minimise the danger of this happening.”

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