Flu outbreak keeps NJ disinfecting company busy

NEW JERSEY (FOX5NY.COM) - This was the beginning of another busy day for Tony Gallira and Betsy Cirillo respond to another call to disinfect another workspace. This time: inside the Wayne Township First Aid Squad ambulance.

Their company is called Pathogend of New Jersey. You can consider them the Ghostbusters of germs. They use hospital-grade disinfectant to rid offices, schools, and other spaces of bacteria, germs, or viruses. They use an ultraviolet light to disinfect the spots that can't get wet, such as the ambulance's touch-screen system.

The ambulance treats 15 to 20 patients each day and has seen its fair share of flu patients.

"One of the things we are very concerned about is the cleanliness or our ambulances—both for the patients and for our members because, as you well know, there's a lot of issues going on with flu," said Vernon Cooper of the First Aid Squad.

Pathogend is headquartered in Florida. The Wayne, New Jersey, location opened 10 months ago. The flu outbreak, the biggest one in a decade, is putting a high demand on this disinfecting service.

"We're not cleaning—we're going so much farther than that," Cirillo said. "We're really keeping your staff, your students, yourself and your family safe."