Preventing the spread of EHEC
Good cleaning and hygiene practices and some common sense precautions will go far to help prevent the spread of EHEC and many other types of infectious illnesses.
- Wash and disinfect your hands with soap and water frequently and thoroughly, especially after using the bathroom, after handling raw meat or produce, before handling any food and before eating food. Hand disinfection provides a better kill of bacteria than hand washing and is thus preferred over hand washing at any time. Hand washing remains mandatory for removing visible soil from hands. Due to the aggresive nature of this bacteria, if you are in contact with anyone displaying the symptoms of this illness, it is essential to clean your hands after contact with an ill individual.
- Prevent cross contamination by separating raw and cooked food and by washing produce thoroughly and washing and disinfecting food contact surfaces and equipment used for food processing and preparation.
- Cook food thoroughly. Heating to 70oC (160oF) will inactivate EHEC. When cooking food it is important to use a food thermometer as color is not always a good indicator of cooking temperatures.
- Avoid unsafe water. Always make sure that the water you are using for cooking and cleaning is safe and potable.
- Store food at a safe temperature. Keep cold foods cold (below 40oC) and hot foods hot (above 57oC).
- Use a registered disinfectant cleaner on hard surfaces that are touched frequently, such as cafeteria tables, door knobs and door push plates, elevator buttons, light switches, desks, restroom fixtures, telephones and computer keyboards. Organisms can survive on hard surfaces for two hours or longer. Frequently cleaning and disinfecting of hard surfaces can help reduce the spread of infection in homes and in community settings such as offices, stores, schools, hotels, restaurants and healthcare facilities.