Tracy Richards, founder of Aqueos, is stressing the importance of maintaining good hygiene practices around pets and horses as the Coronavirus continues to spread.

With the Kennel Club making the decision last week to carry on with Crufts, despite reports that one dog tested "weak positive" for Coronavirus in Hong Kong, most experts agree that at the moment, you do not need to worry that your household dog or cat is at risk, either of spreading the virus or getting sick themselves. “That does not mean however that you should not maintain good hygiene within the home and around kennels and stables to protect yourself and your co-workers from the virus” says Tracy Richards. 

Washing your hands after touching animals, since their saliva can spread other germs even if Coronavirus is not an issue, is the best way of protecting yourself.  

Tracy explains: “Wash your hands under running water (preferably warm water for a more pleasant and effective experience) using plenty of soap. Make sure you soap your wrists and between your fingers, and really rub it in well for a couple of minutes. When you rinse, keep rubbing, and make sure you dry off thoroughly – preferably not on a dirty towel that is harbouring further unknown germs. Soap is generally adequate, but if there is a known risk, a disinfectant based wash is recommended. You can also use disinfectant hand sanitisers in holders, similar to those seen in hospitals, and attach them in strategic positions. These are particularly important if you run any kind of kennels or stables. “

Keeping the environment clean is also important whether at home or if you keep a kennels, stables or dog grooming salon. With any infectious disease especially those caused by viruses, the most important strategy for avoiding infection is appropriate disease control and biosecurity strategies .These include isolating all new dogs or horses introduced onto the premises; isolating sick animals and handling them last out of the groups; and using hand-washing, protective outerwear, foot baths, and disinfectants to minimise spread of disease.

Aqueos produces a range of sanitising products that use a technological breakthrough to produce a water-based disinfectant that kills 99.999 per cent of known bacteria, fungi and viruses. Aqueos disinfectants have less than 1% active ingredients in them and animals can return to treated areas immediately.  The disinfectants can be used on any surface and carry on working after application.

The range of Aqueos shampoos for dogs and horses are both anti-bacterial and anti-fungal and are an effective deodoriser.  They help to combat itchiness, soothe minor skin irritations and are gentle on the skin, leaving the coat soft as well as the mane and tails on horses. They can be used on minor skin wounds and are alcohol and phenol free.

All Aqueos products are fully tested and come with an excellent pedigree and meet high performance standards:

“We are so glad that 99% of our products are manufactured in the UK.  The active agent in Aqueos is registered on the European Biocidal register and effective against test standards EN1276 (Bacterial), EN1660 (Fungicidal) and EN14476 (Virucidal). It also typically exhibits the highest biocidal efficacy of all quaternary compounds. The performance advantage is especially evident in the presence of hard water and organic soiling, compared with simple Benzalkonium chloride quaternaries. 

“Our stable disinfectant is DEFRA approved and we have carried out more detailed approvals for Strangles, Ringworm and Parvo Virus” says Tracy.

Aqueos has won a number of industry awards for their products including  PATS New product – Anti-Bacterial Dog Shampoo runner up 2013 and winner in 2015 for their Spray Plaster which can be sprayed directly onto animals and protects minor cuts and grazes from water, dirt and bacteria - it gives a bandage-like protection and stays elastic but is still breathable and waterproof. They also recently won the Best New Grooming Product at PATS Sandown in 2020 for their Quick Wash product.

“Regular cleaning is so much better than then having to deal with a situation that could damage an equine or canine business.”

For further information please visit: www.aqueos.co.uk