ActivePure Technologies, LLC Chief Medical and Science Advisor Offers Thoughts at IFMA Event
DALLAS, TX / ACCESSWIRE / December 7, 2022 / Recent reports out of Australia indicate that the United States would be in for a significant influenza season this winter. Influenza, commonly known as the flu, may affect more people this year compared to 2020 and 2021, impacted by the mitigation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers and experts in infectious diseases such as world-renowned medical expert Deborah Birx, M.D., chief medical and science advisor for ActivePure Technologies, are sharing their insights and recommendations for how to best prepare for and manage health concerns this flu season- especially with regard to indoor air quality.
COVID-19 mitigations led to record low flu cases during the last two flu seasons. While the timing and severity of influenza rates in the United States are unpredictable, global experts look to Australia's flu season as an indicator of what the upcoming season might look like. In 2022, Australia reported the highest number of casesand hospitalizations since the COVID-19 pandemic started. Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) also shows an increasing trend of RSV cases among children starting in the summer and carrying on through fall and winter.
Influenza, SARS-CoV-2 and RSV are all considered respiratory viruses and spread similarly through aerosol and droplet transmission, primarily indoors. Tiny respiratory droplets are expelled when individuals talk, cough, sneeze, laugh and breathe, resulting in the rapid spread of viruses. All three viruses can remain in the air and on porous surfaces for an extended period and are then recirculated through indoor air. Influenza and SARS-CoV-2 viruses are highly infectious and can infect individuals when even a few tiny aerosols bind to nasal receptors. Experts agree that social distancing, proper hand washing and wearing a face mask can help reduce the spread of influenza, COVID-19 and other airborne viruses.
Earlier this year at the 2022 International Facility Management Association (IFMA) World Workplace event, Dr. Birx shared her concerns about the potential impact of the combination of the flu and COVID-19 this season. She said, "I think with the American public really understanding how airborne infectious diseases are spread with just people talking indoors, this has allowed us to really see the depth and breadth of the threats that exist in our indoor air - threats that we weren't paying any attention to."
As the autumn and winter months begin, experts are warning of a perfect storm brewing that could overwhelm hospitals and healthcare workers. With the normal flu season set to coincide with an uptick in RSV cases, as well as another potential surge of COVID-19 cases, hospitals could once again be stretched to a breaking point.
"The results from Australia, which had a significant jump for the first-time in seasonal flu in the last three years, are worrying and suggest that the combination of COVID-19 and flu cases could put significant strain on hospitals and their staff. If cases rise in schools and spread into communities as they did in Australia, it will be difficult for healthcare workers to keep up with all the predicted hospitalizations," Dr. Birx said. "Especially when only half of the U.S. population plan to get their flu vaccine according to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. Over the course of the past two years, we have seen lower flu cases than in years past thanks to physically distancing and face masks. With the lower number, we also have lower immunity."
Dr. Birx emphasized the importance of increased testing and immediate proper treatment to keep the vulnerable alive and out of the hospital. To address the risk of significant spread of these respiratory pathogens, she also discussed the role that clean air quality can play in reducing the incidence of respiratory illness. "We know now, definitively, that viruses are transmitted when people get together indoors. Now, people are not going to stop getting together indoors and the majority have abandoned masking. What COVID has pointed out is that there are solutions to not have to tolerate workplace and indoor spaces being spreading areas for pathogens. We have learned exactly how unsafe indoor air can become compared to outdoor air, and there are solutions."
The use of air purification technologies has been recommended throughout the pandemic as an additional layer of protection. The same innovations also help control the spread of the flu and other airborne pathogens. This is particularly true during fall and winter when more individuals are indoors and sharing the same air.
ActivePure Technologies, LLC, the leading air and surface purification technology company, is a 21st century technology used worldwide to actively seek and reduce airborne pathogens that lead to illnesses like the flu and COVID-19. Though not a replacement for other flu season precautions, ActivePure has proven effective at reducing viruses in the air and on surfaces, including various forms of influenza virus.
ActivePure brings the naturally occurring process of photolysis to indoor spaces. Photolysis is the vital atmospheric process that utilizes the sun's power to break down humidity in the air to create the molecules essential for atmospheric cleansing. This technology, referred to as advanced photocatalysis, recreates that natural process by using UVC lights with a photocatalyst to transform humidity in ambient indoor air to create ActivePure molecules, which neutralize airborne and surface pathogens actively and continuously.
To learn more about ActivePure, visit ActivePure.com or call (888) 217-4316.
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ABOUT ACTIVEPURE
Privately held ActivePure has been the global leader in sustainable, active, continuous surface and air disinfection systems for healthcare and educational institutions, commercial and public facilities, hospitality and residential applications since 1924. Patented ActivePure Technology has been proven in independent university and laboratory testing to control and neutralize indoor contaminants effectively. It is the only product in its class recognized by the Space Foundation as Certified Space Technology and inducted into the Space Foundation Hall of Fame. In 2022, ActivePure was named on the Inc. 5000 list of most successful and fastest-growing private companies in America. In addition, the ActivePure Medical Guardian is registered and cleared as an FDA Class II Medical Device. ActivePure was developed for use in space exploration and has since evolved for use in commercial and consumer products used to reduce exposure to pathogens, including RNA and DNA viruses, bacteria and molds, by up to 99.9% in the air and on surfaces. For more information, please visit ActivePure.com or call 888-217-4316.
MEDIA CONTACTS
Jo Trizila, on behalf of ActivePure
Email: Jo@TrizCom.com
Office: 972-247-2369
Cell/Text: 214-232-0078
Caroline Morse, on behalf of ActivePure
Email: Caroline@TrizCom.com
Office: 972-247-1369
Cell/Text: 817-682-6523
SOURCE: ActivePure Technology
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