The 2022-23 cold & flu season is notable, thus far, for its unparalleled unpredictability that placed an increased burden on the healthcare system, schools, and businesses.
Overview of the 2022-2023 Influenza Season So Far
The 2022-23 influenza season is notable for several anomalies compared to recent years.
The heightened awareness of the importance of hygiene and the need for effective cleaning methods has led to an increased focus on green cleaning.
What is Green Cleaning?
Green cleaning emphasizes using environmentally friendly and sustainable products, equipment, and methods.
Indoor air quality is critical to schools and businesses--playing a crucial role in occupant health, cognitive functions, and quality of life in and outside the facility.
Defining Air Quality and Facility Health
Indoor air quality is somewhat of a complex subject.
The ongoing threat of infectious diseases and pandemics has made it imperative for businesses to take appropriate measures to protect their employees and visitors from germs.
Pathogens in Office Buildings
The Earth contains countless microbial life--most of which has yet to be identified.
Optimizing critical fitness facility cleaning protocols will help ensure that post-COVID membership numbers continue to grow during the crucial first quarter and beyond.
Cleaning is Critical to Fitness Facility Success
Cleanliness is an essential element in any fitness facility--ensuring the safety and health of members and staff.
Researchers have identified nine areas of a facility's daily operations critical to maintaining healthy and productive schools and businesses.
The 9 Foundations of a Healthy Building
A team of researchers from Harvard University, working in conjunction with experts across relevant fields, including real estate, facilities management, and academia, have identified nine fundamental characteristics of a healthy building:
Ventilation.
U.S. health officials are concerned that a convergence of increased direct social interaction and decreased handwashing levels will result in a surge of norovirus infections on par with the 2022 season.
What COVID Did to Norovirus Infections
The U.S. public response to COVID significantly impacted norovirus transmission during the 2020-21 cold and flu season.
During the long cold months of the winter, insects and other pests that typically live outdoors will seek shelter, warmth, food, and water inside homes, schools, and businesses, leaving a trail of costly damage and disease in their wake.
Why Do Outdoor Pests Come Inside During the Winter?
When the temperatures are warmer, most insects and other pests tend to remain outdoors, where food, shelter, and water are plentiful.
Children in childcare facilities are exposed to an increased risk of infection, particularly during cold and flu season.
Infections in Childcare Facilities
Children, especially the very young, are at increased risk of infection year-round regardless of whether or not they attend a childcare center due to their immature immune systems.
Until recently, the correlation between cold weather and an increase in seasonal cold infections was poorly understood--but new information suggests that it all starts with our nose.
The Impact of Cold Weather on the Spread of Illness
One of the most common modes of infectious disease transmission between humans is contact--directly with an infected host or indirectly with a contaminated surface or object.