Stratum 1: Physical Protection

Physical protection starts with prevention. Simply stated, people should wash their hands to prevent viruses from adhering to their body and objects around them. Those infected should be encouraged to stay home from work to reduce the spread of the infection, and the “two-meter rule” should be enforced to keep viruses at bay by maintaining a physical distance between people. Proper etiquette for coughing and sneezing as well as a proper disposal of waste materials will prevent people from catching or spreading viruses. Physical separation from the sources of infection (via masks and protective clothing that block the routes of infection) and disinfection of objects exposed to infection are also important. The infected individual can adopt concrete measures at this level.

Stratum 2: Ambient Protection

If we imagine viruses suspended in the air when someone coughs or sneezes, then the objective of Ambient Protection is to reduce the amount of viruses that we breathe in from the contaminated air. At this level, the objective is to disinfect the air in living spaces, homes, transportation vehicles, and workplaces, where adequate ventilation is impossible. With the goal of maintaining humidity at 50% RH or over and the room temperature at 20ºC or higher, at which viral activity is reduced, we provide methods for disinfecting the air with chlorine dioxide gas (See Note 1) that are geared for the specific application and the site. Our products are accompanied by an exhaustive guide on how to prepare for and implement these measures. Households or corporations can adopt concrete measures at this level.

(Note 1) J Gen Virol 89, 60-67 (2008): In an aerosol infection experiment using mouse influenza A virus, it was confirmed that chlorine dioxide gas at 1/3 the level of the labor safety standard for human exposure or less prevented the mice from dying of infections and reduced the activity of hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA).

Stratum 3: Biological Protection

The purpose of Biological Protection is to inhibit the invasion and proliferation of the influenza virus within the body. The most basic internal defenses that individuals can practice are gargling and regular flu vaccinations. We have devised the following measures against the new types of influenza like H1N1, where there is a fear of pandemics. Pre-pandemic vaccines and pandemic vaccines can be used to inhibit cellular invasion by viruses by suppressing the activity of hemagglutinin (HA), a protein present on the surface of the influenza virus. The anti-influenza antiviral drugs Zanamivir and Oseltamivir can be used to suppress the spread and proliferation of the virus within the body by inhibiting the activity of viral neuraminidase (NA).
Pre-pandemic vaccines, pandemic vaccines, and anti-influenza drugs used under early treatment strategy guidelines must all be prophylactically administered in accordance with the instructions of the competent administrative offices and agencies.