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Wipe Away Staph and Bacteria: Beware of the Superbug

CSEF · 2009 Microbiology

Alec R. Steele · Sacred Heart School, Palm Desert, Riverside County

Overview

Objectives/Goals The objective is to test how well disinfecting wipes can reduce or eliminate Staphylococcus aureus and other bacteria from a commonly touched household area (the pantry door handle in our house). Methods/Materials Several swabs were used over several days and under dirty and disinfected conditions. Eisenhower Medical Center Microbiology Lab donated several blood agar petri dishes, inoculation loops, Catalase solution, Staphaurex solution, to test for the presence and amounts of staph and other bacteria. Some man hours were contributed by the microbiologists for training in the testing methods used in this experiment Results Progressive improvement and eventual eradication of staph was confirmed on the pantry door handle. The more the handle was wiped down with Lysol Disinfecting Wipes, the more staph and bacteria were eliminated. The staph and other bacteria did return to the pantry door handle over time when not being wiped with the Lysol wipes Conclusions/Discussion The Lysol Disinfecting Wipes were quite successful at killing off the staph and other bacteria; however, the bacteria tended to return after a few days of not wiping the designated area. This suggests that ongoing efforts are necessary to reduce the number of staph and other bacteria on commonly touched items in the house in order to lessen the likelihood of family members being infected by staph and other bacteria.

Summary statement

The frequent use of Lysol Disinfecting Wipes on a commonly used door knob in my house eradicated Staph and Bacteria potentially reducing the spread of infection to my family members.

Help received

Eisenhower Medical Center Bacteriology Lab provided me with the necessary materials to examine my hypothesis and conduct the research. The microbiologists taught me the proper techniques and interpreting the test results for the various cultures. My father drove me to EMC to conduct the lab portion of my

Competition history

  • CSEF 2009 Microbiology · Entry J1727

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