Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 18th April 2024 Issue no. 1110
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Five ways to slow surging spread of Norovirus
Norovirus is in full swing in the US this Winter. While the number of cases hit historic lows during the pandemic, now it's behind us, experts believe 2023 may be a record year for cases. Likewise flu in the UK and other parts of the world.
Norovirus is a family of viruses typically spread when an infected person vomits. A typical year sees about 20 million cases, around 800 deaths, and nearly 100,000 hospitalisations.
So, what can facilities managers, administrators and cleaning professionals do about this?
ProNatural Brands, manufacturer of citrus-based cleaning solutions, sanitisers and disinfectants, offers the following suggestions to help slow the spread of norovirus:
Know your products…
Know the difference between cleaning, sanitising and disinfecting. Cleaning removes soil on surfaces; sanitising kills or eliminates most pathogens; disinfectants eliminate all pathogens listed on their product label. In most cases, cleaners and disinfectants should be used to clean up Norovirus vomiting incidents.
Have written procedures…
All cleaning procedures should be in writing, including those addressing Norovirus. This standardises the cleaning process and reinforces training. When cleaning procedures are in writing, workers know what to do, which products to select, and how to protect their own health.
Use cleaning products properly…
In a Norovirus situation, surfaces should be cleaned first, and then an EPA-registered disinfectant should be used to disinfect the surfaces. However, at least one EPA-registered, citrus-based disinfectant can clean and disinfect in one step. This improves worker productivity, helping staff disinfect more surfaces faster.
Vacate the area…
After a vomiting incident, administrators should ask everyone to leave the immediate area. This reduces the chances of others getting sick.
Forceful vomiting…
Norovirus vomiting is referred to as ‘forceful vomiting’. The greater force causes Norovirus pathogens to spread as much as 25 feet from the immediate area. This means all surfaces, high and low, within 25 feet must be cleaned.
"At this time of the year, we must assume any vomiting incident may be related to Norovirus," says Lee Chen, CEO at ProNatural Brands. "Even if it's not, it's better to be safe than sorry."
Since its beginning in 2012, ProNatural Brands has developed a full line of 100% naturally derived disinfectants, sanitisers and cleaning products with patented, citrus formulas for the foodservice, healthcare, education, and hospitality industries, as well as for the consumer market. ProNatural Brands’ products have been scientifically proven to be effective and a safer alternative for the user's health and the environment.
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