Infectious disease often poses a serious problem in the workplace. From seasonal flu to respiratory infection, infectious diseases are responsible for worker illness and in some cases even death. While this is a rare occurrence, seeing widespread illness spread through a workplace is not. What happens when half of a workforce is exposed to an illness and has to take time off due to the presentation of symptoms or possible contagion? In a matter of mere hours, a sick worker can spread illness to hundreds and in some cases even thousands of their coworkers.

How Disease Spreads in the Workplace

How does infectious disease spread in the workplace? It’s important to understand how infectious diseases are transmitted. Primary routes of transmission include direct and indirect, droplet and airborne pathways. Direct contact refers to skin-to-skin contact where the disease is transmitted from the host to the recipient. Indirect contact occurs when the infectious agent is transferred to some type of object or surface (door knobs, counters, equipment, etc.) This indirect contact is a transmission type that Invisimed can effectively eliminate through environmental decontamination. Droplets are another form of direct contact, where a host coughs, sneezes or speaks causing saliva or mucus particles to come in contact with the recipients’ mucous membranes. Finally, there is airborne transmission, which occurs when infectious agents can remain suspended in air for extended periods of time. This causes others to inhale the pathogen into their respiratory tract, creating infection.

How to Prevent Further Spread of Disease

It is important to follow best practices and take proper preventive measures. Infectious disease experts say it is highly advisable to obtain recommended vaccinations and immunizations to help prevent illness and the spread of disease. Other important steps include: proper hygiene, limiting exposure to infected individuals, adhering to infection/exposure control precautions and implementing a comprehensive environmental decontamination protocol.

While Invisimed can’t limit interpersonal exposure, our product can eliminate the threat of indirect exposure, as well as effectively kill airborne pathogens in the workplace. With the highest efficacy on the market, Invisimed is capable of eliminating threats and ensuring a continued healthy workplace.

Benefits

While workplace health and safety is always the number one priority, the corporate bottom line is also a consideration. With numerous studies showing reduced illness, we can confidently say Invisimed will create a cost-saving opportunities within your workforce. Over a five year period, the Minnesota Department of Health completed a study showing that Invisimed applications resulted in a 50% total reduction in the number of sick days within a school district from year-to-year. This generated substantial cost savings for the district.