Rentokil Initial Malaysia’s New Hygiene Range Helps Reduce Illnesses in the Office

Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, October 11, 2014 --(PR.com)-- The latest headlined epidemic, Ebola, which causes severe internal bleeding by damaging the immune system and organs, has resulted in 2,633 deaths worldwide as of September 2014, making it the worst outbreak recorded in the history.

The transmission of Ebola happens when the virus spreads from an infected person to another through direct contact with contaminated bodily fluids or tissue. While we are concerned about this deadly epidemic, let’s not neglect the fact that common microbial infections, such as Influenza and Gastroenteritis, also led to a high number of fatalities each year. Based on a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Gastroenteritis has contributed to around 56,000 to 71,000 hospitalisations and up to 800 deaths are reported annually around the globe.

In Malaysia, food poisoning is one of the top three illnesses reported every year with 44.9 incidence rate per 100,000 populations, which is equivalent to 13,182 cases in 2012. As office employees spend an average of 8 hours working daily in close proximities with each other, chances of infection are higher. This is because they are very likely to touch infected surfaces, such as the door knobs and toilet flush handles at least 10 times a day.

According to a recent research presented during the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, scientists have discovered that it only takes a few hours for a virus to spread from an infected person or surface, to the entire building. They tracked the contamination by spreading tracer virus, (which has similar classifications as the Norovirus but is harmless to humans) on doorknobs and table tops in an office building. Within 2 to 4 hours, a series of swab tests were then carried out periodically around the premises. After the experiment has concluded, the test results shown that up to 60 percent of the office has been contaminated with the virus.

A hygienist in London has reported that, a large percentage of Gastroenteritis and Influenza cases are often caused by the lack of proper hand hygiene practices. And as a matter of fact, by simply washing our hands with soap and water diligently, it helps to reduce infection-associated deaths by up to 50 percent. Besides hand hygiene practice, sanitising germ hotpots such as mobile phones, keyboards, lift buttons and workstations with disinfectant wipes is also effective against harmful germs and viruses like Norovirus and Salmonella. Although surface contamination in a facility can occur quickly, a simple intervention can greatly help in minimising the exposure to these noxious viruses.

To further elevate hygiene standards in an office premises, Initial Hygiene’s newly launched Signature range, was developed. Initial hygiene strives to encourage good hygiene behaviour among washroom users by combining style with functionality. The units are integrated with antibacterial technology to improve surface hygiene by inhibiting the growth of bacteria on the units at the same time help to reduce the risk of cross contamination which may arise in shared washrooms. Alongside a full range of hygiene solutions, Initial Hygiene has also come up with service packs that are carefully outlined to address different hygiene needs and standards in different businesses.

“Poor hand hygiene is one of the main factors for germ transmission and the proliferation of diseases in a workplace. Instilling proper hand hygiene behaviour in the office will provide long-term health benefits with increased employee productivity and improved morale; eventually creating a positive impact on your business,” say Ms. Carol Lam, the Managing Director of Rentokil Initial Malaysia.