Verifiable ongoing germ protection
Protect Your business from the
The Flu Why your business can't afford to catch the flu
Between December and March each year, you probably notice a number of employees calling in sick with flu.
Flu season generally winter
In fact, flu is responsible for as much as 40% of sickness during flu season1 and up to 10% of all work days lost to sickness throughout the year2.
Flu 40%
Working days lost 7.6 million
Every year UK businesses like yours lose 7.6 milion working days to flu3, costing them as much as ÂŁ1.35 billion3.
ÂŁ1,35 billion Loss every year
Once flu makes its way into your workplace, it can pass quickly from collegue to collegue. And while it's unpleasant to catch, it has an even nastier effect on your profits.
So if you want to protect your bottom line, you need to understand how the virus spreads around your workplace, and how to stop it.
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Verifiable Ongoing Germ Protection
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Clin Infect Dis, 2009 Occup Med (Lond), 2002 The Co-operative Group, 2010
The Problem Flu can have a davastating effect on your company’s productivity loss every year
Workflow disruptions Key project slow down or stop employee absences affect progress of important projects
Decreased output Reduced customer service levels customers’ needs are not met on time, damaging the business relationship Failure to meet production targets fulfilment is delayed and deadlines are missed
Fall in profitability Cycle of reinfection impacts bottom line. Recognising that the business is under pressure, employees come to work when they're still unwell. The chain of infection continues resulting in on-going reduced productivity
Verifiable Ongoing Germ Protection
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The Problem How flu spreads around your workplace
Flu is highly contagious and passes quickly from employee to employee in two ways: INDIRECT TRANSMISSION Air-borne or hand-borne droplets make their way to surfaces. Once a flu virus has landed on surfaces it can live as long as 48 hours 4 , which means plenty of opportunity to transfer to employees’hands. We touch our mouth, nose or eyes several times an hour during the working day 5 – potentially transporting the flu virus straight from fingertips into our body.
DIRECT TRANSMISSION When a flu-infected employee coughs or sneezes, air-borne droplets can directly contact other employees 6 .
1 Employee becomes infected with flu virus
Infected employee coughs or sneezes, before going home sick
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Employee puts finger to mouth or nose
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Flu virus land on surfaces
Unknowing employee tochues surfaces
On average people touch their face about 16 times in an hour. Droplets that come from our mouth, nose and eyes end up on surfaces. Then when we touch those surfaces we bring them back to our mouth, nose and eyes. That's how transmission can occur. Dr. Rachel Herlihy Epidemiologist
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J Infect Dis, 1982 J Occup Environ Hyg, 2008 Clin Infect Dis, 2003
The Problem The effects of just one sneeze
When an employee with flu coughs or sneezes, millions of virus particles travel through the air7, landing on objects and surfaces.
Once on surface flu virus can survive up to 48 hours - waiting to infect the next person that comes along.
HANDS Contaminated hands can transfer viruses to up to seven surfaces 8 . As many as 14 people can be contaminated by touching the same object 9 .
SNEEZE One sneeze produces 40,000 contaminated droplets that can travel up to one metre. 7
WATER COOLER TAP The tap of a communal water cooler could become a major source of virus transmission.
SURFACES Viruses can live on some surfaces for up to two days.
KEYBOARDS AND MICE Computer keyboards and mice are notorious for they levels of contamination.
DOOR HANDLES Wherever hands go, flu viruses go.
COUGH A single cough expels around 3000 droplets.
FACE TOUCHING The journey from fingertips to mouth or nose happens automatically - we naturally touch our mouth, nose or eyes several times an hour 10 .
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Bardi JS, 2009 J Hosp Infect, 2004 J Hosp Infect, 2000 10 J Occup Environ Hyg, 2008 8
Verifiable Ongoing Germ Protection
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The Solution How to control infection in your workplace
Conventional surface disinfectants have a short lifespan. For effective workplace protection, you would need to keep applying them throughout the day - a costly, not to mention impossible, exercise. Microbe Secure™ is a revolutionary biocide that provides long term disinfection of office surfaces. So if employees with flu sneeze or cough, the viruses they expel are killed on contact with treated surfaces. BEFORE
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The Solution Microbe Secure breaks the chain of flu infection
Microbe Secure™ is proven in independent laboratory tests to neutralize infection-spreading germs long after application11. That means you don’t need to keep applying it throughout the day to keep your workplace protected.
Protection you can prove To give you extra peace of mind, Microbe Secure™ comes with testing strips, so you can verify the level of protection currently at work. No other disinfectant has such a proven method for verifying its application or its continued effectiveness on a surface.
The only way to stop flu spreading around your workplace is to break the chain of infection.
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MGS Laboratories, 2012
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Need more information? Visit the Microbe Secure business protection website: www.HealthierOffices.co.uk Ready to be protect you business? To locate your nearest authorized Microbe Secure Service provider cal:l 0800 061 2629 MICROBE SECURE LTD 2 Redhouse Square, Duncan Close Moulton Park NORTHAMPTON, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE England, NN3 6WL Phone +44 (0) 1652641681 (8am to 4pm)