Exercise 1-1: Glo Germ Hand Washing Education

Hand Washing Lab

Antimicrobial – destroying or inhibiting the growth of microorganisms and especially pathogenic microorganisms.

Efficacy - capable of having the desired result or effect; effective as a means, measure, remedy, etc.

Floral bacterial – Microorganisms including bacteria, protozoa, and fungi that are normally found on or in specific areas of the body. They do not cause disease under normal circumstances. These are sometimes referred to as resident bacteria.

Germs – a microorganism, especially one that causes disease.

Microbes – archaea, bacteria, fungi, viruses. Microbes are single-cell organisms so tiny that millions can fit into the eye of a needle. Usually referring to a bacterium causing disease or fermentation.

Triclosan – an antibacterial and antifungal agent found in consumer products, including toothpaste, soaps, detergents, toys, and surgical cleaning treatments.

Transient bacteria – temporary skin flora refers to the microorganisms that transiently colonize the skin. This includes bacteria, fungi and viruses, which reach the hands, for example, by direct skin-to-skin contact or indirectly via objects. They are sometimes called contaminant bacteria.

How we pick up bacteria:

· Food borne – A disease caused by consuming contaminated and spoiled food or drink. There are more than 250 known foodborne diseases. The majority are infectious and are caused by bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Other foodborne diseases are essentially poisonings caused by toxins, chemicals contaminating the food.

· Indirect transmission – a transmission mechanism in which the infectious agent is transferred to the person by a fomite of vector.

o Fomite – an object (as a dish or a doorknob) that may be contaminated with infectious organisms and serve in their transmission.

o Vector – an organism, typically a biting insect or tick, that transmits a disease or parasite from one animal or plant to another.

· Person-to-person transmission –the most common form of transmitting diseases and virus. There are two types of contact transmission: direct and indirect.

o Direct contact transmission occurs when there is physical contact between an infected person and a susceptible person. Disease-causing microorganisms pass from the infected person to the healthy person via direct physical contact with blood or body fluids.

o Indirect contact transmission occurs when there is no direct human-to-human contact. Indirect contact infections spread when an infected person sneezes or coughs, sending infectious droplets into the air. If healthy people inhale the infectious droplets, or if the contaminated droplets land directly in their eyes, nose or mouth, they risk becoming ill.

· Water borne transmission –any illness caused by drinking water contaminated by human or animal feces, which contain pathogenic microorganisms. Infection commonly results during bathing, washing, drinking, in the preparation of food, or the consumption of food that is infected.

The recommended time for hand washing, to remove transient microbes, is 15 to 20 seconds. Surgical scrubs last for 5 minutes.

Exercise 1-2: A Comparison of Hand-Cleansing Agents

Procedure:

1. Use an assigned hand-cleansing agent

2. Label the bottom side (agar side) of your petri dish as seen below:

a. ***Be sure to write your name and which hand-cleansing agent you used on your petri dish!***

3. Rub your left hand’s finger tips (all 5 of them) on a sample area known to be contaminated with bacteria (the floor, the soles of your shoes, a tabletop near a sink, your backpack, your forehead, or your feet, etc.)

4. One at a time, gently press your fingertips into the “Before” spots on your petri dish.

5. Wash your hands with soap and water.

6. Now, sample the same site with your right hand, but only one fingertip at a time. Then rub that fingertip in the hand-cleansing agent in your left palm for 10 seconds (follow the directions on the bottle whether you need to air dry or rinse with water and dry).

7. Once the fingertip is dry, gently press it into the “After” side of the petri dish.

8. Repeat steps 6 & 7 until you have done all fingertips on the right hand.

9. Incubate the dish. We will observe results next week.