Swine Flu could be a computer virus.

Well not quite, but recent research has shown that the average keyboard carries up to 4,000 different germs, and swine flu could be one of them. Don’t forget that the virus can live outside of a warm body for up to 20 hours so it could be lurking there to catch you in the morning. 

A while ago we told you  about the health risks associated with dirty keyboards, computers and office telephones; you may remember that the average office desk top has been shown to have more germs per square inch than your average toilet seat.

A frightening image no doubt, but logical if you consider that most public conveniences are professionally cleaned twice a day, whereas the most a keyboard can expect is a dusting every few days, but hardly ever a good deep clean.

Most cleaning companies will be able to organise a thorough deep clean of your everyday computer equipment , which can, in most cases reduce the number of these critters from over 4000 families to just one or two.

As you would expect, letting staff eat their lunch at the desk will do nothing to reduce the proliferation of germs, and in turn could increase the level of absenteeism in your staff, due to illness.

Although the rate of increase in the numbers of  Swine Flu cases seem to have slowed a little, it is still a real threat to your business in terms of lost man power, and anything that you can do to reduce this risk has got to be a good idea.

The Government has produced a checklist to help businesses fight against the Swine Flu pandemic has highlighted the need for all enterprises to increase their hygiene and cleaning routines, and to provide plenty of antibacterial wipes and hand washes.

As well as your computer equipment and telephone, you should also look at other items which you may share, such as printers, copiers, calculators and other business items.

You should also make sure that your office desk tops and chairs are properly cleaned on a regular basis, as well as any other shared office furniture.

Canteen and Restaurant areas are usually  not a problem as their cleaning regime is more frequent and concentrated.

It is the less obvious areas which seem to have the highest proliferation of germs and viruses, and it is these areas which you need to look at as soon as possible. So get on to you cleaning company today to see how quickly they can reduce the threat of transmitting the virus through office furnishings and equipment.

A little action and expenditure now, could save you thousands in terms of lost manpower in the future, and anyway, you really should already be undertaking a cleaning regime of this level, Swine Flu or no Swine Flu.

After all I doubt that you would want to each your lunch in your office toilets, and yet statistically you are less likely to catch an infection there, than from you office desk.

Now that is a sobering thought which should galvanise you into action.