What Disinfecting Mistakes Are You Making?

Lessons Learned from CA Hepatitis A Outbreak

What can we learn from the recent state of emergency in California due to the Hepatitis A outbreak in San Diego, Santa Cruz, and Los Angeles counties?

Although this strain of Hepatitis A is quite rare in the US, the outbreak illustrates that any outbreak wreaks havoc in a community. We have all witnessed the ramifications of norovirus or influenza outbreaks.

Maintenance professionals should be prepared for any type of outbreak in order to prevent the spread of any communicable disease.

Hepatitis A can survive 30 days on environmental surfaces. That is why the California Division of OSHA just released preventive measures that can curb the outbreak including:

Maintaining a clean and sanitary workplace
Proper cleaning and sanitizing of workplace restrooms
Providing hand washing facilities

Hepatitis A isn’t the only virus which survives on environmental surfaces for a period of time.

Norovirus survives up to two weeks on surfaces while Influenza can remain viable for up to 48 hours.

Avoid Common Disinfection Mistakes

Proper disinfection of surfaces is particularly important during any type of outbreak, whether it is Hepatitis A, Norovirus, Influenza or other communicable diseases. Here are some guidelines for avoiding common disinfection errors:

Read the disinfectant label. Be sure the disinfectant you are using lists on its label the bacteria or virus you are targeting. Different disinfectants are formulated to kill different microbes. Make sure you are using the right product to be effective in your facility.
Look for EPA registration. Every disinfectant must display its EPA registration number. Make sure the product you are using is EPA registered.
Allow proper dwell time. The biggest mistake in using disinfectants is not allowing the surface to remain wet for the appropriate amount of time. Follow the directions on the disinfectant label for proper dwell time.

Encourage Proper Handwashing

It has been shown that signage in restrooms increases the amount of proper hand washing. Make sure restrooms have adequate hand soap and post signage to encourage compliance.

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