An Introduction to Vivotec
We are now critically aware of the threat to our health from deadly viral and pathogenic organisms and are having to take protective measures that were unimaginable just a year ago.
We could see that infection prevention solutions were not evolving to meet the rapidly escalating situation brought about by the Coronavirus outbreak, and as a family we wanted to do our bit to help New Zealand businesses get back on their feet and for their staff to have the reassurance that they were returning to a safe workspace.
Despite promising advances in vaccine development, many health professionals expect that this global threat to our health will continue into the foreseeable future.
While everyone’s focus currently is on COVID-19, it is also important to remember that this virus is only one of many infectious diseases.
The influenza A (H1N1) Swine Flu pandemic of 2009-2010 infected as many as 1.4 million people and is estimated to have caused between 100,000 and 400,000 deaths in the first year alone.
Every year, seasonal influenza infects one in four people, and in New Zealand accounts for over 30,000 G.P visits, 2000 hospitalisations and an estimated 500 deaths.
In November 2020, the Auckland Public Health Service responded to 29 Norovirus outbreaks, of which 21 were at early learning centres, with 64 staff and 280 children becoming unwell.
In many cases these infections are spread unwittingly. Around 80% of Flu cases are asymptomatic carriers who could have spread the virus among their family, co-workers, classmates and patients without ever realising it.
The annual cost to New Zealand businesses through absenteeism due to illness is immense, with Business NZ/ Southern Cross studies showing an absent employee typically costs their employer around $1000 a year. In 2018, the average absence level of 4.7 days per employee amounted to an estimated 7.4 million workdays lost, and direct costs of absenteeism amounting to $1.79 billion.
Simple sanitising protocols involving regular cleaning and disinfecting with effective broad spectrum disinfectants have been proven to significantly reduce the risk of infection from these Flu virus’s and many other infectious pathogens.
No one wants another lockdown – lets work together to keep New Zealand safe, healthy, and happy!