FEATURE BACTERIA What’s lurking on your desk? 10 DECEMBER / JANUARY 2016 CLEANING HYGIENE TODAY ÍÍ Cotton buds ÍÍ Alcohol wipes ÍÍ Tape ÍÍ A label maker ÍÍ Antibacterial soap We planned to take swabs from the areas of the office that the average worker is most likely to come into contact with on a normal day. We decided the most interesting areas would be: ÍÍ Hot water boiler ÍÍ Computer mouse ÍÍ Photocopier ÍÍ Keyboard ÍÍ Desk surface ÍÍ Cleaned computer mouse (using generic desk wipes) Keeping work and common areas as clean as possible, for example, is a great step towards reducing the risk of transmitting illnesses? The NHS suggests that some viruses can live for weeks on hard surfaces, such as door handles and kitchen worktops, but also, more worryingly, on many of the everyday items you’d find on an office desk? Well, we decided to do a little experiment to grow some bacterial cultures and show what some of the weird and wonderful bugs that surround us every day actually look like when given the chance to grow undisturbed. So, we set about swabbing all the common areas in the office that people come into contact with. The results were both fascinating and revolting! Take a look at how we went about growing the microorganisms and what we found: “After five days, the bacterial and fungal cultures had grown to visibly revolting levels! ” THE METHOD With the help and guidance of a technology college’s lab technicians, we procured some agar-filled Petri dishes. These are small plastic dishes with lids that are filled with agar - a nutrient jelly that’s used as a growth medium for microorganisms such as bacteria. Put simply, it is prime bacteria food. We then gathered some other materials, such as:
CHT December/January 2016
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