Download GERMS: Objectives: To help students recognize what objects

GERMS: Objectives: To help students recognize what objects contain the most germs, tips on how to avoid
them and what precautions to take to prevent them.
Phillip Tiermo, author of “The Secret Life of Germs” and Director of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology
at NYU, states that “we come in contact with about 60,000 types of germs a day. One to two percent of them
are potentially dangerous to people with normal immunity.
Dr. Don Goldman – infectious disease specialist at Children’s Hospital in Boston says a cold virus can live up
to SIX hours outside the human body.
Colds usually get into your body through your NOSE or EYES – seldom through your mouth – kissing could be
ok….:-) You can’t catch the same cold virus twice, but there are hundreds of other strains of viruses to catch.
Average adult has 2-3 colds a year / Average child 6-12 colds a year
Money/loss spent on colds a year in the US:

1.
$75-100 million on physician visits
2.
$7.7 billion on physician costs
3.
$2.9 billion on over-the-counter drugs
4.
$400 million on prescription drugs
5.
189 million school days lost a year to colds
6.
126 million work days missed by parents caring for their children
7.
150 million employees missed days a year
8.
Total cold-related work loss exceeds $20 billion a year
List 10 - 15 objects (other than in the previous activity) that they feel have large amount of germs on them Allow about 5-10 min. for this activity.
1.
Kitchen faucet – biofilm on the screen
2.
Garbage disposal – 1000 x’s more bacteria then a toilet
3.
Welcome mat
4.
Vacuum cleaner
5.
Dish towel (7% are contaminated with MRSA)
6.
Car dashboard
7.
Soap dispenser
8.
Restaurant ketchup bottle
9.
Refrigerator seal (83% have molds)
10. Cell phones
Activity: See if students can come up with the dirtiest objects in restaurants. 5-10 min.
Top 10 germ-riddled spots in a restaurant – Nov. 2012, ABC News, consumer correspondent, Elisabeth Leany
1.
Seats
2.
Menus
3.
Lemon wedges (50% tested positive for fecal matter)
4.
Salt & pepper shakers
5.
Tables (especially edges)
6.
Rims of glasses
7.
Bathroom door knobs
8.
Bathroom faucets
9.
Ketchup bottles
10. Salad bar thongs


Money is full of germs – paper money the most. The metals in coins often kill the bacteria, especially
the nickel.
Most effective mechanism to avoid picking up a cold or other bacteria is washing hands – cuts your risk
to almost “Nil” – wash your hands before you eat, drink or touch your face.
-Sanitize items -Don’t share things -Stay home if you are sick -Keep tissues handy -Avoid infested areas
-Build immune system – good sleep, naps, nutrition Vit C&D and exercise -Clean your space
-Hands off – especially your nose and eyes -immunization
MRSA – methicillin resistant staphylococcus Aureus – facts - MRSA may resemble spider bites/pimple/boils
and may stay confined to the skin BUT can go to bones, joints, blood stream, heart valves and lungs


CDC says about 2% of the population are carriers of the MRSA bacteria
1/3 of the population has staph infection in their nose
MRSA can live: 7 months on dust / 8 weeks on a mop head / 9 weeks on a cotton towel / 203 days on a
blanket / indefinitely on skin
*******MSRA has become resistant to most antibiotics
Dr. Aaron Giatt, spokesman for Infectious Disease Society of American – has his top 11 most infected germ
items: 1. Purses/wallets 2. Remote control devices 3. Laundry rooms (100 million Ecoil bacterial in an average
load of undergarments) 4. Cutting boards (200 more times fecal bacteria on a cutting board than a toilet seat)
5. Phones 6. Water Fountains (they have twice the bacteria of a toilet seat 7. Buttons of all types – elevators,
candy/pop/snack machines, ATM’s, telephone’s – first floor elevator buttons are the worst) 8. Yoga or gym
matts 9. Airplane bathroom 10. Kitchen Sink 11. Shopping carts ( 50% tested positive for Ecoil)