--- title: L, M,(N), O, P...Leave Norovirus Mops Off Please! description: L, M,(N), O, P...Leave Norovirus Mops Off Please! --- # [L, M,(N), O, P...Leave Norovirus Mops Off Please!](https://www.viroxanimalhealth.com/resources/talkcleantome/2015/04/l-mn-o-pleave-norovirus-mops-off-please.html) Written by [Nicole Kenny](https://www.viroxanimalhealth.com/resources/author/nicole-kenny) | Apr 2, 2015 8:12:00 PM It's not that I jump at the chance to languish in other people's misfortunes...BUT when there is a lesson to learn and the "misfortune" provides a great example of what not to do, or why we shouldn't do something, you’d  want to bet I'm going to exploit it.  Case in point...** All non-emergency operations have been cancelled at a Cumbrian hospital following an outbreak of Norovirus and the **[**North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS**](http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cumbria-30998272)** Trust have barred children from visiting until further notice. ** Why you ask?  [NOROVIRUS!](http://talkcleantome.blogspot.ca/2012/01/norovirus-dont-make-it-your-winter.html)  Some of us may have been fooled that because spring has sprung the pesky winter vomiting disease has "left the building", but in reality Norovirus can pop up at any time and in closed spaces where we have elderly and/or sick people it can run rampant.   The truth is for some hospital associated outbreaks, the initial cause was a family member who just "had" to visit their great-aunt Ethel, Granny, Grampy or sibling, cousin or friend who just had a baby.  People, if you're feeling under the weather or are sick....STAY HOME! In this situation, cases of Norovirus began cropping up in January, and after a review of the more than 200 confirmed cases  at the two Cumbria, UK, hospitals, the [infection prevention control team stated ](http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/dirty-mops-blamed-for-spread-of-sickness-bug-at-hospitals-1.1202146) there were “significant concerns” over the standard of cleanliness and determined that, “Cleaning staff are reusing mops contaminated with norovirus.” Things that make you go hmmm......or GROSS! This is a great and not uncommon example of the breakdown in cleaning protocols.  This breakdown may occur as a result of the fact that training just hasn't been provided (e.g. the housekeeper has had no formal training in the differences of cleaning for health in healthcare facilities vs. what they're mom taught them...).  There are some organisms (Norovirus being a great example) that can [survive on surfaces](http://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/downloads/keyfacts.pdf) for extremely long periods of time and can EASILY be moved from one surface to another via contaminated hands or as it appears in this case, from a surface (fomite....e.g. cleaning cloth or mop) to another surface which subsequently lead to transmission... There are a number of studies that talk to the importance of cleaning and disinfection to combat / stop outbreaks.  There are also numerous studies that focus on the importance of cleaning compliance (e.g. if you don't clean it, you don't kill it).  In February of this year a new study was published in the American Journal of Infection Control that concluded the use of an effective disinfectant in conjunction with a clear protocol for how to clean and disinfect the environment (e.g. lots of training had occurred) and a compliance program where surfaces were being monitored for cleanliness reduced HAIs (VRE, MRSA and C.diff) by 20%. In the case of Cumbria, ensuring that housekeeping staff had adequate training, had clear protocols in terms of how to clean and understood the risk of Norovirus transmission would (at least in my opinion), have minimized the size of the outbreak.  Don't get me wrong, Norovirus can spread easily - just look at what happens aboard cruise ships.  BUT, when you have processes in place to ensure you are effectively marrying products with protocols the end results will be inhalation of the bug you’re combating or in the case of the study noted above....not allowing it to rear its head in the first place! *Bugging Off!* Nicole [View full post](https://www.viroxanimalhealth.com/resources/talkcleantome/2015/04/l-mn-o-pleave-norovirus-mops-off-please.html) ```json { "@context" : "http://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Nicole Kenny" }, "dateModified" : "2019-03-04T15:23:06.713Z", "datePublished" : "2015-04-02T20:12:00Z", "headline" : "L, M,(N), O, P...Leave Norovirus Mops Off Please!", "image" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 60, "url" : "/hs/hsstatic/content_shared_assets/static-1.4092/img/default-amp-logo.png", "width" : 60 }, "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://www.viroxanimalhealth.com/resources/talkcleantome/2015/04/l-mn-o-pleave-norovirus-mops-off-please.html", "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 60, "url" : "/hs/hsstatic/content_shared_assets/static-1.4092/img/default-amp-logo.png", "width" : 60 }, "name" : "Virox-Animal-Health-Resources" } } ```