A Japanese study was published in July which documented that chlorine dioxide at very low levels (.01-.03 ppm,) dispersed via commercially-available slow-release dispensers, decreased school absenteeism from 4.0% to 1.5% during the 38-day study period.  The primary reason for school absence is viral illness.

Chlorine dioxide is a disinfectant which has been in use since the early 1900s, mostly in water treatment, and in industries such as food processing.  It is bactericidal, virucidal and fungicidal.  In higher concentrations, it's  sporicidal.  It's EPA-approved, and its use does not cause any environmental ill effects.

This technology is readily available and usable in any indoor space.  The cost to supply the dispensers to a typical school classroom would be less than $30 per month.

Currently, some US schools (Caldwell County, KY) are reporting up to 40% absence rates due to viral illness, and the novel H1N1 virus may have claimed the life of at least one 7th-grader there.  While many people experience the H1N1 flu to be a mild, self-limited illness, others succumb rapidly to a severe pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome and other dire complications.  The presence or absence of pre-existing comorbidities is not necessarily an accurate predictor of who survives and who dies.

I urge readers to inform their community leaders and educators that chlorine dioxide use in our indoor spaces could help to stop the transmission of influenza and other infectious illness.