Pandemic influenza is a global disease. It is hard to predict when it will occur, or the severity of it. When a pandemic occurs, everyone will be involved in the fight against influenza and preventing the spread of the infection. We need now to start to plan and to build good practice on infection control into our daily routines to help reduce the spread of the disease.
The guidance is designed to assist cleaning staff and refuse collectors working in non-health care settings, in the course of their daily work, protect themselves and their families, and prevent the spread of flu.
It is in addition to general guidance on planning for a flu pandemic previously issued by the Scottish Government, and available at:http://www.scotland.gov.uk/PandemicFlu
This guidance focuses on pandemic flu, but much of the advice here would also be good practice for reducing the spread of other viral infections.