Reusable V Disposables
How can we help reduce risk of infection
Use of reusable cups poses a risk, if the cup is not washed in boiling water,
cross contamination could occur, transmitting disease from worker to
worker or customer to customer.
Have a look on the edge of the glass or mug, and you will quite often see the
lipstick from a previous user, this indicates that the process being used to clean the item is not
adequate, putting users at high risk.
Even without an obvious sign, a glass or china mug may look clean, but unless it has been completely sanitised bacteria or viruses can live on the surface without being visible to the naked eye, infecting the next user of the glass or china mug.
Reusable glasses like the ones found in hotel bedrooms would pose the same risk, and the question has to be asked, how are these cups and glasses being washed ready for the next occupant?
Solution
The quick fix to all this would be to use single service products like a paper
cup or disposable glass, you then have the confidence that everyone is starting with a completely safe vessel. At this time I do not think anyone can be putting
customers or staff at risk with reusable items.
Global health authorities warned Wednesday that swine flu was threatening to
bloom into a pandemic, and the virus spread farther in Europe even as the outbreak
appeared to stabilize at its epicenter. A toddler who succumbed in Texas became
the first death outside Mexico.
New cases
and deaths finally seemed to be levelling off in Mexico, where 160 people have
been killed, after an aggressive public health campaign. But the World Health
Organization said the global threat is nevertheless serious enough to ramp up
efforts to produce a vaccine against the virus. The group raised its pandemic
alert for swine flu to the second highest level Wednesday, meaning that it
believes a global outbreak of the disease is imminent. It was the first time
the WHO had declared a phase 5 outbreak.
WHO Director General Margaret Chan declared the phase
5 alert after consulting with flu experts from around the world. The
decision could lead the global body to recommend additional measures to combat
the outbreak, including for vaccine manufacturers to switch production from
seasonal flu vaccines to a pandemic vaccine.
"All countries should immediately now activate their pandemic preparedness plans," Chan told reporters in Geneva. "It really is all of humanity that is under threat in a pandemic."