Avoiding The Spread of Infection – In More Ways Than One

	Tweet

It’s well known that a primary vector of disease is a germ-laden hand. Mano to mano, much misery in the land of the adenovirus is spread from a handshake. So what can you do when a sniffling colleague heads over to greet you at a holiday party?

Many carry small bottles of antimicrobial hand sanitizer during flu season. But Saint Joseph’s University medical microbiology expert Michael McCann, Ph.D., says to think twice before reaching into your pocket. Instead, he advises thorough hand washing with conventional soap and warm water.

“The use of antimicrobials by the general public may be a literal case of over-kill,” notes McCann. “Research suggests wide-scale application of these sanitizers promotes the evolution of drug-resistant strains of bacteria. Many contain chemicals like triclosan that specifically kill bacteria, but do not harm us. The problem is, triclosan can trigger ‘selection.’”

McCann explains that selection occurs when conditions become favorable or unfavorable for individuals of the same species, based on genetic variation. In this case, if millions of bacteria are exposed to triclosan, it kills almost all of them. But if one of those bacteria has a genetic mutation that enables it to survive the lethal chemical, then the application of triclosan will select for that individual. Only bacteria resisting the chemical survive.

Descendents of resistant bacteria also carry the mutation, which leads to the generation of large populations of resistant organisms. “This is exactly what has happened with antibiotics, and why strains of bacteria like MRSA are no longer susceptible to many commonly used antibiotics,” he adds.

McCann says studies have shown sanitizers that use alcohol—ethanol and/or isopropanol—are much more effective at killing microorganisms and inactivating viruses than triclosan. Further, there does not seem to be a mechanism by which bacteria and other organisms can evolve resistance to alcohols—another reason to use these products.

So if you can’t get to soap and water quickly at the holiday party, it’s safe to break out the hand sanitizer—as long as it contains alcohol.

Source: Saint Joseph’s University

RELATED STORIES:
Vietnam’s largest city orders mass kill of poultry   Hospital Care Varies Greatly for Children with Urinary Tract Infections   Infections in childhood linked to high risk of ischemic stroke   Malaria scientist celebrates success after 24 years   Hospitals get guidelines on reporting infections   Mosquito virus kills 78 in a month - Indian ocean fears epidemic   Cold virus linked to mystery disease   Blacks less apt to respond to hepatitis C therapy   Cholera kills 40 people in first outbreak in five years   Engineers Develop Novel Device to Help Treat Ear Infections   Statins reduce deaths from infection and respiratory illness, 8 years on from trial   Studies reveal structure of EV71, a virus causing childhood illnesses

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]