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U.S. human cases of swine flu infection
(As of April 30, 2009, 10:30 AM ET)

Number of laboratory-confirmed cases

Arizona: 1
California: 14
Indiana: 1
Kansas: 2
Massachusetts: 2
Michigan: 1
Nevada: 1
New York City: 50
Ohio: 1
South Carolina: 10
Texas: 26
TOTAL: 109

Number of deaths

Texas: 1
TOTAL: 1

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Latest update from CDC on Twitter
Guidance for Clinicians & Public Health Professionals. http://bit.ly/16JewF #swineflu

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FAQ 6 of 18 at Swine Flu and You

Can I get swine influenza from eating or preparing pork?
No. Swine influenza viruses are not spread by food. You cannot get swine influenza from eating pork or pork products. Eating properly handled and cooked pork products is safe.

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Swine Flu page from CDC

Swine Flu world map from USA Today

Thanks to the swine flu news reports, we’re all seeing a lot of people wearing face masks these days.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published a page with a lot of information related to this practice. It gives usage tips and cautions about how much protection to expect.

The media’s been providing almost up-to-the minute counts on confirmed cases and deaths, but they’re failing to report that simply donning a paper mask is NOT going to prevent you from contracting the swine, avian, H5N1 or any other form of flu.

Here are five practices that are equally effective for the general public:

1. Wash your hands properly. Use warm water and soap, sing “Happy Birthday” twice, and turn off the faucet with a paper towel.
2. Sanitize surfaces completely. One swipe with doesn’t cut it. Keep cleaning for at least 20 seconds: sing “Happy Birthday” twice.
3. Stay home if you’re sick.
4. Maintain your social distance. Stay more than two feet away from other people.
5. Avoid touching your face unless you have just washed or sanitized your hands.

Some factors to consider with paper masks:

No one knows how well respirators and face masks help control flu. The CDC opens its page by saying they have little data in this area, so they’re working from their best judgment and from history of general respirator and face mask use.

Don’t rely only on respirators or face masks. It’s better to take a range of actions such as those described above.

Respirators and face masks reduce exposure to airborne contaminants. Don’t expect them to prevent exposure. The problem with paper masks is that most don’t have a seal around the edges. Any air that is not drawn through the filtering media has not been “cleaned.” And even the most efficient respirator cartridge is only 99.7% efficient. There’s still a .3% chance of exposure.

A respirator’s seal to your face is vital. There’s a difference between a respirator and a paper mask. A respirator has a seal and needs to be fit-tested to ensure that it forms a proper seal and is providing proper protection. Without that seal, it’s not much better than a paper mask. Most paper masks are just that: masks. They don’t have a seal. As mentioned earlier, you’re not protected from “dirty” air that flows in around the edges—and air takes the path of least resistance, so much of an incoming breath could be unfiltered.

Watch the rating. N95 is a very common rating, but it was designed for respirators and masks used in an industrial setting. It has to do with whether the mask can be used in the presence of an oil mist. Although the CDC is recommending an N95 or higher rating, most N95 respirators haven’t been tested with any viral or bacterial contaminants.

A quick guide to the industrial ratings:

• N = Not resistant to oil
• R = Resistant to oil
• P = Oil Proof

• 95 = Filters 95% of particles 0.3 microns in diameter or larger
• 99 = Filters 99% of particles 0.3 microns or larger
• 100 = Filters 99.97% of particles 0.3 microns or larger

Respirators with exhalation valves can spread infection. If you are or may be infected, a respirator with an exhalation valve won’t protect others around you.

Any disposable respirator or face mask can spread infection if not handled properly. After using a disposable respirator around anyone who might be infected, don’t touch it except when wearing proper protective gloves. Dispose of it properly. It could be a biohazard.

Be careful with your gloves, too. Assume that protective gloves that touch a used respirator or face mask are also contaminated, so don’t touch anything else while wearing them. Remove them with caution, not touching the outer surfaces, dispose of them properly, and wash your hands thoroughly after removing the gloves.

Compare the cost of disposables to reusables. Will your group be discarding enough one-use respirators that reusable respirators would be a better choice?

The World Health Organization (WHO) has just raised the Pandemic Level from 4 to 5. With proper awareness, we may be able to avoid Level 6!

Our sympathies goes out to everyone affected by these cases of flu. Be well.

Related PIG® products:

Disposable Respirators

Reusable Respirators

Nitrile Gloves

Latex Gloves

RelyOn™ Antiseptic Hand Wipes

KIMTECH PREP® Surface Sanitizer

Wall Bracket for KIMTECH™ Surface Sanitizing Wiper

Clorox® Disinfecting Wipes
12 tubs, lemon scent
12 tubs, fresh scent
6 tubs, lemon scent
6 tubs, fresh scent

Purell® Sanitizing Wipes
35 wipes
175 wipes

Purell® Hand Sanitizer
four 2-liter pump bottles
24 4.25 oz bottles
twelve 8 oz. pump bottles
six 800-ml bag-in-box refills
dispenser

PIG® BioSafety Spill Clean-up Kit

Vomitus Clean-up Kit

U.S. human cases of swine flu infection
(As of April 29, 2009, 11:00 AM ET)

Number of laboratory-confirmed cases

Arizona: 1
California: 14
Indiana: 1
Kansas: 2
Massachusetts: 2
Michigan: 2
Nevada: 1
New York City: 51
Ohio: 1
Texas: 16
TOTAL: 91

Number of deaths

Texas: 1
TOTAL: 1

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Latest update from CDC on Twitter
CDC reminds you that you can NOT get swine flu from eating pork. http://bit.ly/16YpY1 #swineflu

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FAQ 6 of 18 at Swine Flu and You

How can someone with the flu infect someone else?
Infected people may be able to infect others beginning 1 day before symptoms develop and up to 7 or more days after becoming sick. That means that you may be able to pass on the flu to someone else before you know you are sick, as well as while you are sick.

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Name change?

There are signs that the U.S. government will now refer to “H1N1 flu: rather than “swine flu,” to discourage the false idea that the virus can be caught by eating pork.

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Swine Flu page from CDC

Swine Flu world map from USA Today

U.S. human cases of swine flu infection
(As of April 28, 2009 11:00 AM ET)

Number of laboratory-confirmed cases
California: 10
Kansas: 2
New York City: 45
Ohio: 1
Texas: 6
TOTAL: 64

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Latest update from CDC on Twitter
Interim Guidance—Pregnant Women and Swine Influenza: Considerations for Clinicians http://bit.ly/5uJfG #swineflu

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FAQ 4 of 18 at Swine Flu and You

What are the signs and symptoms of swine flu in people?
The symptoms of swine flu in people are similar to the symptoms of regular human flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting associated with swine flu. In the past, severe illness (pneumonia and respiratory failure) and deaths have been reported with swine flu infection in people. Like seasonal flu, swine flu may cause a worsening of underlying chronic medical conditions.

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Swine Flu page from CDC

Swine Flu world map from USA Today

My post title steals from a famous quote: “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” There’s a similar link in industrial workplaces, between maintenance and safety.

That’s the point of a great new post from Jeff Shiver at Reliable Plant Blogs. In today’s lean times, many company and plant managers move to trim maintenance costs. Jeff suggests this response: “How much are you willing to reduce the amount spent on safety?”

Image ©  peolsen - Fotolia.com

Good question, because an MRO purchase often has implications in many directions.  For instance, we constantly point out that using PIG® Absorbents helps in many areas:

• Safety. Helps keep floors clean and dry.
• Environmental protection. Helps keep oil and other contaminants out of storm drains and landfills (if saturated absorbents are wrung out and/or disposed of by incinerating).
• Compliance. Protecting workers and the environment helps you meet OSHA and EPA regulations.
• Productivity. A cleaner, safer environment helps maximize morale and work activity.

Let’s be fair to company managers dedicated to the greater good and earnestly looking for ways to cut expenses.  Something’s got to give. But there’s no higher priority than safety, so any good manager will appreciate a reminder that it often goes hand in hand (or hand in hoof) with maintenance.

New Pig HR Services feels compelled to respond to the many Pigger inquiries regarding whether one Pigger may scratch behind another Pigger’s ears.

(To clarify: Each of these inquiries came from the same Pigger, asking over and over again.)

After much thinking (and much hoping that this issue would just fade away), our official response is as follows:

Because New Pig is an equal-opportunity employer, we cannot discriminate against individuals.

So if one Pigger may scratch behind another Pigger’s ears with consent, any Pigger may scratch behind another Pigger’s ears with consent.

We don’t see a role for such ear-scratching in our workplace and therefore our official statement is: During work time, each Pigger may feel free to scratch behind his or her own ears but not behind another Pigger’s ears.

Image © Anette Linnea Rasmussen - Fotolia.com

Image © Eric Isselée - Fotolia.com

We are confident that each reasonable person and hog in the employ of New Pig will understand and support this policy.

Respectfully,

HR Services

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This message on workplace boundaries brought to you by these products at newpig.com:

Temporary Protective Coverings and Barrier Walls
Pedestrian Traffic Barriers
Traffic Barriers and Barricades
Traffic Cones

Image © Michael Flippo - Fotolia.com

U.S. human cases of swine flu infection unchanged from April 27, 2009 1:00 PM ET

Number of laboratory-confirmed cases
California: 7
Kansas: 2
New York City: 28
Ohio: 1
Texas: 2
TOTAL: 40

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Latest update from CDC on Twitter
New CDC Travel Health Warning for swine flu: Avoid all nonessential travel to Mexico: http://bit.ly/4Bby4 #swineflu

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FAQ 3 of 18 at Swine Flu and You

Is this swine flu virus contagious?
CDC has determined that this swine influenza A (H1N1) virus is contagious and is spreading from human to human. However, at this time, it not known how easily the virus spreads between people.

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Swine Flu page from CDC

Swine Flu world map from USA Today