Taking time to clean can eat into an already-packed college schedule, but keeping a few areas clean – particularly the bathroom and the kitchen – can reduce students’ exposure to harmful pathogens.
By remaining conscious of possible threats and employing simple precautionary measures, students can virtually eliminate their risk of infection.
Beilei Ge, assistant food science professor, said there are a few common pathogens frequently found in areas where food is prepared.
MORE: SPECIAL SECTIONS STORIES
Salmonella is a kind of bacteria commonly found in produce, chicken or eggs. Campylobacter is another variety of bacteria often found in the juices of unprepared chicken. Another common kitchen culprit is the norovirus, most frequently found in seafood but also present in some produce.
Ge said these pathogens, which can elicit symptoms from headache to diarrhea, can be avoided by following simple guidelines. Some preventative measures include washing hands before handling food, keeping unprepared foods separate and ensuring that foods are properly cooked. Randall Gayda, associate professor of biological sciences, said many pathogens people encounter come from the food they eat.
Gayda said pathogens are everywhere – on and in students’ bodies and around our everyday environments. He suggested frequently used areas, like a computer workspace, may act as harbors for bacteria and viruses. Gayda recommended one of the best ways to avoid infection is to try to keep surroundings clean.
Gayda also said bath rooms are bacteria breeding grounds because of the moist environment in which bacteria can dwell. Also, fungi and viruses are potential threats from group bathroom facilities.
“A common thing is athlete’s foot – a fungi, not a bacteria,” Gayda said. “That can be a problem in bathrooms, particularly public ones.”
Gayda said wearing flip flops in the shower is an easy way to limit exposure to athlete’s foot.
Though it is possible to catch a virus through public bathrooms, Gayda said it would not often happen in common circumstances.
“Viruses are usually in the air,” he said. “There has to be somebody sick there, in that bathroom, and then you came in and breathed that same virus.”
Karen Rockett, assistant director of facilities in Residential Life, said University workers clean shared dorm bathrooms daily. Campus apartment and suite-style bathrooms are cleaned weekly.
Rockett said facility service workers use quaternary products, which are hospital-grade products that fight against more common infections like Hepatitis C and tuberculosis.
“Generally if the bathroom is in fairly clean condition,” Gayda said, “you’re not going to catch anything.”
—–Contact Daniel McBride at [email protected]