Practise good hygiene in the office and at home

Recently local and international headlines have been hogged by a rogue virus that spreads very quickly, killing 9 in 10 of those it infects and has the potential to be an epidemic if left unchecked.

Thankfully, the NHS says the Ebola threat to the UK is still ‘very low’. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt gave an assurance that the risk of an epidemic in the UK is ‘much lower’ because of the experience of NHS staff with infection control procedures. Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond also said in a BBC interview that the government was “absolutely focused” on responding to the threat, and they are fairly confident there are no reported cases in the UK presently.

That is all well and good, but before the Ebola or any other health menace reaches our shores we should already practise what is one of the basic and most effective defences for viruses and bacteria: good hygiene.

The infection from Ebola spreads when people come into contact with the blood, saliva, semen and other body secretions or organs of an infected person. Without proper hygiene, the virus can survive for several days outside of the body, including on the skin of the infected. A person is infectious for as long as their blood and secretions have the virus in them, sometimes even up to seven weeks after the person has recovered.

Other ways a person can contract the disease include:

• Handling the soiled clothing of an infected person then touching your own mouth
• Unprotected sex with an infected person
• Handling or using unsterilised medical equipment or instruments previously used on an infected person
• Handling infected animals or having physical contact with their body fluids

One thing that’s good about this virus though is that it’s not airborne like the flu — you’d need to have close physical contact to get it. Yet it’s very, very important to make sure your body and your surroundings are clean at all times to eliminate any chance of the disease affecting you and yours.

View our range of sanitary dispensers at http://www.theofficesuppliessupermarket.com/c/facilities/janitorial/sanitary-dispensers to help keep your homes and offices clean.

Be safe all!

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