Stay Healthy During Flu Season

With the start of the school year, the threat of a swine flu pandemic and the onset of flu season, staying healthy this year may prove difficult.

According to the Center for Disease Control, every year in the United States, on average:

• 5% to 20% of the population gets the flu
• more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu-related complications
• about 36,000 people die from flu-related causes

The swine flu was first detected in the United States in April 2009. It gets its name not because it was derived from pigs but because many of the genes in this new virus were very similar to influenza viruses that normally occur in pigs in North America.

The flu is spread mainly from person to person through coughing or sneezing of people with influenza. Sometimes people may become infected by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose. Most healthy adults may be able to infect others beginning one day before symptoms develop and up to 5-7 days after becoming sick.

A flu outbreak in the office can hinder business and slow down productivity. Businesses will play a key role in protecting employees’ health and safety as well as limiting the negative impact to the economy and society.

In addition to washing your hands often with soap and water and using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer to protect from germs, take these everyday steps recommended by the CDC to protect your health:

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.
• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
• If you are sick with flu-like illness, CDC recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. (Your fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine.) Keep away from others as much as possible to keep from making others sick.

For more information on the products we at Multi-Clean, Inc. provide to help make your facility a safer and cleaner place, call us at 1.800.433.6816.