How many cases of foodborne disease are there in the United States?
An estimated 76 million cases of foodborne disease occur each year in the United States. The great majority of these cases are mild and cause symptoms for only a day or two. Some cases are more serious, and CDC estimates that there are 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths related to foodborne diseases each year. The most severe cases tend to occur in the very old, the very young, those who have an illness already that reduces their immune system function, and in healthy people exposed to a very high dose of an organism.
By Allen Rathey
According to a study by Sheri L. Maxwell, B.S. and Charles P. Gerba, Ph.D., Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, University of Arizona, men and women have difference germ-related habits and hot spots in their environments. Portions of the study are excerpted below.
The purpose of the study was to determine the relative numbers of bacteria, molds and Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) in offices and to differentiate the germiest offices between men and women. Several variables were considered including different areas of the office, men or women’s offices, age of person, and geographic location.
Methods
A total of one hundred thirteen offices were tested in Washington, DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oregon and New York. Fifty-nine offices were occupied by women and 54 by men. There were 17 sites tested in each office (Table 1). Eight sites were common to all offices (Table 2). Sites were sampled with sterile transport swabs (Becton Dickinson, Sparks, MD) and sent overnight packed in an ice chest to the University of Arizona and processed. Approximately four sq. inches was sampled at each location.
Table 1. Sites sampled in office
1. Phone
2. Desktop
3. Mouse
4. Keyboard
5. Key
6. Pen
7. Bottom of drawer
8. Handle of drawer
9. Knick knack
10. Make up case
11. Purse/wallet
12. Nail file
13. Lotion
14. Palm Pilot
15. Water bottle
16. Cell phone
17. Coffee cup
Table 2. Common sites in each office*
1. Phone
2. Desktop
3. Mouse
4. Keyboard
5. Key
6. Pen
7. Bottom of drawer
8. Handle of drawer
_________________
* same sites sampled in all offices
Results and Discussion
Women’s offices were germier than men’s offices. The number of bacteria in women’s offices was over twice than the number of bacteria in men’s offices. These results are based on the 8 common sites of all offices sampled.
The site with the most bacterial numbers was the men’s wallet, followed by the men’s palm pilot.
Also measured was the average number of bacteria in the women’s offices for each site from the germiest site to the least germiest. The make-up case had the highest number of bacteria and the key had the least amount of bacteria. The top three sites with the most bacteria in the women’s office are the make-up case, phone and purse.
The average number of bacteria according to the site sampled from the germiest to the least germiest in the men’s offices was also determined. The wallet had the highest number of bacteria and the key had the lowest number of bacteria. The top three with the highest number of bacteria were the wallet, Palm Pilot and phone. The top three sites in both the men and women offices are the wallet/purse, phone, and the palm pilot/make-up case, showing a unique correlation between personal items of men and women.
Women had the germiest offices in every location except Washington, DC. The women’s office in Oregon had the highest number of bacteria, followed closely by San Francisco. Men had the germiest offices in LA and the least germiest in Oregon.
Women’s offices also had higher numbers of mold and yeast than men’s offices. On one occasion, adjacent offices at a single location had the largest number of yeast contamination of all offices sampled. It might be of interest to take note of your neighbor’s hygiene practices, so sharing of bacteria and yeast doesn’t occur. When yeast and mold were found in an office, it was found on multiple sites in the office, indicating the ability to be easily spread through office environment.
The study found that the top four sites for mold isolation is identical in both the men and women's offices.
The percent of men and women who keep food in their desk drawer and had mold contamination was also assessed. The desk drawer where food was kept could be the initial site of mold and it is then spread to the top four sites common to men and women.
Men and women's offices that were regularly disinfected had fewer bacteria than offices that were not disinfected. Forty two percent of the women reported using a disinfectant in the office versus only thirty five percent of the men reported using a disinfectant.
MRSA was isolated more from men’s offices than women’s offices. All MRSA colonies were isolated from the phone, mouse, keyboard, desktop and desk drawer bottom. This organism is a case of serious skin infections.
Study Conclusions
1. Females have germier offices than males
2. Females have more bacteria, mold and yeast in their offices than males
3. Top three germiest surfaces in the office:
Women
Make up case
Phone
Purse
Men
Wallet
Palm Pilot
Phone
4. Men’s wallets are germier than women’s purses
5. If you have yeast and/or mold in your office, it is all over your office
6. Mold was isolated the most often in the bottom of the desk drawer. So was the occurrence of food. You are more likely to have mold in your desk if you store food in your desk.
7. Women are more likely to have food in their desk than men.
8. Top four moldiest sites in the office:
Women
Desk Drawer bottom
Phone
Desktop
Mouse
Men
Desk Drawer bottom
Phone
Mouse
Desktop
9. People who say they use disinfectants have less than 1/4 the number of bacteria than those that say they do not.
10. MRSA, a bacterial pathogen, was isolated from 6% of the offices (about 1 in 15).
11. MRSA was isolated twice as often in men’s offices than woman’s offices.
Technical Aspects
The numbers of heterotrophic bacteria (HPC) were determined on R2A media (Difco, sparks, MD) using the spread plate method. Samples were diluted using physiological saline for assay of 10-1 thru 10-3 dilutions. All dilutions were assayed in duplicate. The plates were then incubated at 30 degrees C for 5 days.
Molds and yeasts were assayed on Sabouraud dextrose agar (Difco, Sparks, MD) containing 50 mg/L chloramphenicol. Samples were incubated at 30 degrees C for up to 14 days and colonies counted.
Staphylococcus aureus was assayed on Tryptic soy Agar amended with 5% sheep blood (TSA), 10 mg/L colistin, and 15 mg/L naladixic acid using the spread plate method (Chapin and Murray, 1999). The agar plates were incubated at 35 degrees C for 24-48 hours. beta-hemolytic colonies were isolated and passed onto unamended TSA plates and incubated at 35 degrees C for 24-48 hours. Gram positive cocci, catalase positive, tube coagulase positive, slide coagulase positive and polymixin B resistant colonies were then placed onto MRSA CHROMagar (Becton Dickinson, Sparks, MD) to confirm as MRSA.
A 25-year veteran in the housekeeping and cleaning industry, Allen Rathey began his career by establishing a home and commercial cleaning service in the early 1980s. After 10 years of first-hand experience, he transitioned from cleaning to consulting, providing advice and marketing services through his communications company, now InstructionLink/JanTrain, Inc. (ILJT). ILJT helps a wide range of cleaning industry organizations from start-up businesses to Fortune 500 companies, develop credible marketing messages, medical and scientific advisory boards, scientific communications and related outreach. The goal? Refine and validate products and processes to produce better and healthier indoor environments, then effectively deliver best practice information to the public.
Rathey's passion for educating the marketplace about the life-enhancing, health and other benefits of effective cleaning and housekeeping, prompted him to start The Housekeeping Channel in 2004. The Housekeeping Channel provides consumers with better, faster and healthier housekeeping tips and in-depth information. The Housekeeping Channel's portfolio of best practice advice comes from a range of leading professionals, including cleaning experts, professional executive housekeepers and professional cleaning services, scientists and doctors, environmental specialists and organizational and time-management consultants. More than 50,000 unique visitors go to the Housekeeping Channel each month, many spending more than an hour per visit.
Rathey is also the president of The Healthy House Institute, an online resource for a better, safer indoor environments.
Allen has been tapped as a housekeeping expert by The New York Times, U.S. News and World Report, BrandWeek Magazine, Real Simple, WebMD, and other national media. He has written articles for more than two-dozen international trade and consumer magazines.
Popular Topics: MRSA | Staph | Norovirus | Flu | E. Coli | C. Difficile | Salmonella | Cleaning for Health | Nosocomial Infections | Disinfection | Bacteria | Viruses | Indoor Air Quality | Asthma | Allergies | Allergen | Mold
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