cleanthoughts Publisher Micah Ogburn [email protected] Editorial Director Rich DiPaolo [email protected] (518) 640-9177 (516) 404-4532 I’ll Take Mine With A Side Managing Editor Aaron Baunee [email protected] (518) 640-9167 Of Tamiflu Beating the effects of influenza is a crapshoot; luckily, I’m a gambling man. Assistant Editor Amanda Martini-Hughes [email protected] (518) 640-9168 Account Executives Susan Pierce [email protected] Pat Harrington [email protected] Matt Moberg [email protected] Art Director Marty Harris [email protected] Graphic Designer Justin Lancaster Director of Business Operations Michael Perkins [email protected] (518) 640-9156 Ad Materials Manager Rebecca Wilson [email protected] (256) 715-0342 (518) 640-9173 (518) 640-9172 W Well, the apocalyptic rapture never came to fruition, so it is time to break in a new calendar. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this current juncture on our calendar is the earliest start to influenza season in a decade. This year’s flu variant is particularly viru-lent, and officials warn that many Americans unlucky enough to succumb to the virus will be sicker than in years past. The CDC, the World Health Organization (WHO) and other officialdoms pertaining to the health, safety and wellbeing of the populace urge every man, woman and child to seek inoculation — especially those high-risk groups such as elderly individuals and juveniles. While nearly one-third of all Americans choose to be vaccinated and receive a flu shot each year, I am one of the rebels that your doctor, nurse or other qualified medi-cal practitioner warned you about; I refuse to purposefully introduce influenza into my system. Now, I understand the idea of immuniza-tion and have been poked, jabbed, prodded, stabbed, etc., for countless ailments, but never the flu. Chances are good that we all will encoun-ter the influenza virus in some capacity before the season officially ends in April. But, regardless of whether or not one receives a flu shot, the formula that is inject-ed into your arm is for last year’s strain and offers no guarantee that you will remain healthy. Interestingly, only about half of all health-care workers — a ranking on the likelihood of people in various professions contracting the virus placed custodial professionals second only to healthcare workers — choose to be vaccinated. Instead of taking the chance of the vac-cination going rogue, I simply eat well, ingest the necessary vitamin and mineral supple-ments and practice proper hand hygiene. Calling The Bluff Well, as luck would have it — some call this sick and twisted turn of fate karma — I fell ill with influenza after gallivanting around town visiting friends and family this holiday season. This isn’t the first time it has happened; I’ve had the flu several times before. I was bedridden for three days while, on behalf of my immune system, my white blood cells went “Van Damme” on the virus. A couple sleepless nights with cold sweats and shivers — and not to mention several doses of Tamiflu — later, and I was back to my lively, healthy self. The morale of the story: If you’re going to take a chance with your personal health, you better be prepared to deal with whatever consequences come your way. Auspiciously, America’s sick season only requires us to fight influenza and its little cousin, the common cold. And, even though influenza and rhinovirus can both be deadly in some instances, we are fortunate that we don’t have, for exam-ple, a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) season that runs like clock-work from October to April every year. CM (518) 640-9164 CMI ® Administrative Manager Sharon Hillis [email protected] (518) 640-9163 Editorial, Advertising & Publishing Offices NTP Media, division of 19BritishAmericanBlvdWest•Latham,NY12110-6405 (518) 783-1281 FAX: (518) 783-1386 Subscription Questions or Inquiries Toll Free (866) 721-4807 Outside U.S. (847) 763-1867 or e-mail [email protected] Subscribe / Renew / Change of Address: http://www.CMMOnline.com/Subscribe Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement #40612608 Canada Returns to be sent to: Bleuchip International, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2 Corporate General Manager Barry Lovette [email protected] Vice President of Operations [email protected] Brent Kizzire Chief Marketing Officer, Publishing Services Group [email protected] Hank Brown Vice President of Business Publishing [email protected] Tracy Aston-Martin Vice President of Finance [email protected] Brad Youngblood Director of New Business Development [email protected] Matt Gallinger Group Director of Circulation & Fulfillment [email protected] Delicia Poole Circulation Manager Anna Hicks Circulation Analyst Lindsay Cook [email protected] [email protected] Editorial Advisory Board: Aaron Baunee, managing editor Send comments or thoughts on this topic or any other article that appears in CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® magazine, to [email protected]. Benjamin Tanner, Antimicrobial Test Laboratories; Bill McGarvey, Phillip Rosenau Company; Darrel Hicks, St. Luke’s Hospital; David Holly, The Ashkin Group; Kathleen Stanton, American Cleaning Institute (ACI); Jeff Cross, Cleanfax magazine; Russell Kendzior, National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI). CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management Online™ Service at www.CMMOnline.com 4 CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® • January 2013
CMM – Archives Jan 2013: 4
