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with the upcoming holiday travels, asking how to prevent the spread of disease-causing pathogens isn\u2019t just for aspiring microbiologists but a great question for everyone.<\/span><\/p>\n Do we really stand a chance of keeping our hands clean from germs?<\/span><\/p>\n There are two main strategies.<\/span><\/p>\n The first is to decrease the overall biomass of microbes \u2013 that is, decrease the amount of bacteria, viruses and other types of microorganisms. We do this by lathering with soap and rinsing with water. Soap\u2019s chemistry helps remove microorganisms from our hands by accentuating the slippery properties of our own skin.<\/span><\/p>\n Studies have shown that effectively\u00a0washing with soap and water<\/a> significantly reduces the bacterial load of diarrhea-causing bacteria.<\/span><\/p>\n The second strategy is to kill the bacteria. We do this by using products with an\u00a0antibacterial agent<\/a>\u00a0such as alcohols, chlorine, peroxides, chlorhexidine or triclosan.<\/span><\/p>\n Some academic work has shown that\u00a0antibacterial soaps <\/a>\u00a0are more effective at reducing certain bacteria on soiled hands than soaps without them.<\/span><\/p>\n However, there\u2019s a problem. Some\u00a0bacterial cells<\/a>\u00a0on our hands may have genes that enable them to be resistant to a given antibacterial agent. This means that after the antibacterial agent kills some bacteria, the resistant strains remaining on the hands can flourish.<\/span><\/p>\n Further, the genes that allowed the bacteria to be resistant could pass along to other bacteria, causing more resistant strains. Together, the \u201ctake-over\u201d of resistant strains would render the use of the antibacterial agent essentially ineffective.<\/span><\/p>\n Also, the long-term use of some\u00a0antibacterial products<\/a>\u00a0may harm your health.<\/span><\/p>\n For example, animal studies investigating the antibacterial agent triclosan, which used to be in soaps, toothpastes and deodorant, has been shown to alter the way\u00a0hormones work in the body<\/a>. The Food and Drug Administration has prohibited the use of over-the-counter antiseptic wash products containing triclosan and many other antibacterial active ingredients.<\/span><\/p>\n With this in mind, you may want to stick with plain old soap and water.<\/span><\/p>\n To clean our hands, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u00a0recommends <\/a>that we:<\/span><\/p>\n I was shocked to read a study that indicated that\u00a093.2 percent<\/a>\u00a0of 2,800 survey respondents did not wash their hands after coughing or sneezing. Also, one study showed that across a college-town environment with observations of 3,749 people, the average hand-washing time was approximately\u00a0six seconds<\/a>!<\/span><\/p>\n If soap and water are not unavailable, the CDC recommends using an alcohol-based\u00a0hand sanitizer <\/a>\u00a0that contains at least 60 percent ethanol. Alcohols have a broad-spectrum of antimicrobial activity and are\u00a0less selective for resistance<\/a>\u00a0compared to other antibacterial chemicals.<\/span><\/p>\n However, alcohol-based hand\u00a0sanitizers may not work<\/a>\u00a0on all classes of germs.<\/span><\/p>\n The presence of some bacteria isn\u2019t necessarily a bad thing.<\/span><\/p>\n In the lab where I am pursuing my dissertation, our focus is understanding the complex interactions between animal hosts and bacteria. I would be remiss to not mention that the bacteria that live on or within us are essential for us as hosts, especially considering their role in protecting us from pathogens.<\/span><\/p>\n We live in a microbial world:\u00a0Trillions of different bacteria <\/a>colonize our skin, gut, and orifices. Collectively with yeast and viruses, they are called our microbiota. A plethora of exciting research suggests that the associations of animal hosts with their microbiota are not rare occurrences but in fact are fundamentally\u00a0important for the host\u2019s biology<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Our\u00a0microbiota can protect us<\/a>\u00a0from germs by training our immune system and by\u00a0colonization resistance<\/a>): the characteristic of the intestinal microbiota to block colonization of pathogens.<\/span><\/p>\n Although more research needs to be done to understand the intricate interactions between microbial communities with host cells, consistent work illustrates that a diverse population of\u00a0microbes<\/a>\u00a0and a balance of this community is important for our health.<\/span><\/p>\n Poor diet, lack of sleep, stress and antibiotic use can negatively perturb our microbiota communities, which in turn can put us at\u00a0risk for diseases <\/a>. In fact, it is becoming clear that our microbiota are active participants in preventing and sometimes driving disease, depending on the state of the\u00a0microbial communities <\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Washing-Hand.jpg?resize=600%2C401&ssl=1\")
Washing hands with warm soap and water is the best way to keep your hands clean.<\/span>\u00a0r.classen\/Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n
\nTwo-fisted approach<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
Best practices<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Not all microbes are germs<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Michelle Sconce Massaquoi<\/span>