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#1 Posted : 06 June 2007 08:47:00(UTC)
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Posted By sian
Can anyone advice me please I have a case in a hair salon where four memebers off staff have reported they will be off due to having impetigo, the hair salon is in a college do I need to close the department down?

And is there anything else I need to do with regards to a risk assessment/Checks.

Help!!
Sian
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#2 Posted : 06 June 2007 08:58:00(UTC)
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Posted By MT
Impetigo is *highly* infectious, so you need to make sure that everyone who has been diagnosed as having it stays away from the college and you should take medical advice on when they should be allowed to return.

It is a bacterial infection, and symptoms may not appear for up to 10 days after the infection has been caught. It could be passed from contact with the towels used in the salon, or the equipment.

I would think that the salon itself should be closed until an extremely thorough deep clean has taken place, all towels should be washed and equipment cleaned with bactericidal cleaner.
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#3 Posted : 06 June 2007 11:07:00(UTC)
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Posted By Steve Derby
Sian

Off the top of my head impetigo is quite infectious.

I'd give the HSE Medical Advisory Service a call who will probably be able to give you a reliable answer

Steve
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#4 Posted : 06 June 2007 11:29:00(UTC)
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Posted By sian
Thankyou for advice,

Would you know what would be the sufficient temperature to wash the towells at.

Sian
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#5 Posted : 06 June 2007 11:37:00(UTC)
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Posted By Paul Leadbetter
Sian

NHS Direct states that towels should be washed at a high temperature but doesn't state how high. I should think they mean at least 60ยบ but the hotter the better.

Paul
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#6 Posted : 06 June 2007 11:56:00(UTC)
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Posted By John Cook
Sian

In our laundry we would wash items, for infection control, at a temperature of 71 deg C for a minimum of 3 minutes.

Lowest temperature used for this purpose would be 65 deg C and time would increase to a minimum of 5 minutes.

Know this is not what you originally asked but would form part of our procedures if we had such an outbreak.

John
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#7 Posted : 06 June 2007 14:05:00(UTC)
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Posted By Linda Westrupp
Your best bet here would be to contact your local Health Protection Agency office (often based at the local area/regional Health Authority) and ask to speak to the infection control team. They will give you all the advice you need. For further reading material they have a website which has information on many infections and infestations (like scabies and headlice). While your local hospital Infection Control nurse may be willing to give some advice this is not really their role, their purpose is to advise hospital staff and deal with internal issues within the hospital and they do not work out in the community.
The usual temperature for linen would be 71C or at least 65C with a longer wash cycle. I hope this helps
Linda
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