Do You Know Your Germs?

Dateline: 17.01.2009
Author: Kaivac

Our industry now knows that its true purpose is not to just keep facilities looking clean but to keep them healthy. To do this, we must know a few things about the disease-causing germs, viruses, bacteria, and contaminants that can make our customers' facilities home.
To help, please answer these questions the best you can, then check your responses below with the correct answers provided by Kaivac, developer of the No-Touch Cleaning system.

1. MRSA infections can occur anywhere and are dependent on the 5 Cs. The 5 Cs are?
a) Contact, Contaminated items, Close proximity, Convenience, and Crowding
b) Contaminated items, Contact, Crowding, Compromised skin, and Cleanliness
c) Contaminated items, Cross contamination, Compromised skin, Cuts and abrasions, and Cleanliness

2. What is a 'toilet sneeze'?
a) A type of cold or flu infection transmitted by contaminated toilet seats
b) Advanced toilets that use air-pressure instead of water to flush waste
c) The germ-laden mist that is sprayed onto nearby surfaces when a toilet is flushed

3. The reason Dr Michael Zuckerman, chief medical officer at Noble Medical Consulting Group, believes high-flow fluid extraction systems are so effective is:
a) More chemical and water can be applied to surfaces to remove contaminants
b) They remove soil rather than redistribute it
c) The pressure agitates contaminants so that they are easier to remove

4. Bacteria can live on surfaces as long as:
a) 20 minutes to 2 hours or more
b) Usually less then 10 minutes
c) Several hours, even days, with sufficient oxygen and moisture

5. About 20 percent of the US population gets the flu each year. How many die (on average) as a result each year?
a) About 5,000
b) 10,000 to 15,000
c) More than 35,000

6. Harmful germs or pathogens in biofilm, which forms when bacteria adhere to and colonise a surface, were found alive and well after how many minutes in bleach?
a) About 10 minutes
b) More than 60 minutes
c) They were killed almost instantly by the bleach

Answers:
1. Contaminated items, Contact, Crowding, Compromised skin, and Cleanliness
2. The germ-laden mist that is sprayed onto nearby surfaces when a toilet is flushed
3. They remove soil rather than redistribute it
4. 20 minutes to 2 hours or more
5. More than 35,000
6. More than 60 minutes
www.kaivac.com or www.intervac.net.au

Do You Know Your Germs?