CHTMAG.COM BACTERIA FEATURE Sickness season is upon us. Cold and flu viruses lurk in every corner of the office, as our colleagues cough and splutter through the day. Sometimes getting ill can’t be avoided, but there are precautions you can take to avoid succumbing to the yearly sniffles. Office supply experts Viking share their experiences DECEMBER / JANUARY 2016 11 CLEANING HYGIENE TODAY ÍÍ Main corridor door handle ÍÍ Telephone mouthpiece ÍÍ Chewed pencil ÍÍ Chewed pen We’d then inoculate the agar plates individually, label them and then leave them in a warm place for a few days, checking back to keep an eye on any developments. To inoculate the plates, sterilised cotton buds were rubbed all over the sample area and then swiped in a zig-zag pattern lightly across the surface of the agar jelly. It was important to sterilise the cotton buds using an alcohol wipe before use, allowing the alcohol to evaporate before using it to swab. That way, it was reasonable to deduce that the only bacteria gathered would be from the specimen surface (and not residual bacteria already present on the cotton bud). We then put the dishes in a breathable cardboard box somewhere warm for five days. The box was labelled so that nobody unwittingly opened it or threw it away. It’s important to work methodically and carefully to avoid accidental or crosscontamination. The lid of each Petri dish was opened momentarily and then closed, labelled and taped as soon as it had been inoculated. You should also wash your hands after handling each sample to avoid contaminating your swabs and to avoid anything nasty lingering on your skin. THE RESULTS After five days, the bacterial and fungal cultures had grown to visibly revolting levels! Given that this was the first time our team had done an experiment like this since their school days, we were really pleased with the way the plates had turned out. We were also rather repulsed by the contents of the plates, as it highlighted the diversity of germs that might be lurking on most of the surfaces in the office. COMPUTER MOUSE Since the sample taken from the mouse that had been cleaned exhibited the least amount of growth, it also highlighted just how important it was to regularly clean your equipment and work surfaces - particularly when somebody in your office is ill.
CHT December/January 2016
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