IMPORTANCE OF HAND WASHING1DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL SCIENCES, 2DEPARTMENT OF URBAN

EDUCATION

INTRODUCTION & PURPOSE

REFERENCES"5 Things to Know about the Hospital 'superbug' Outbreak at UCLA." Hospital Business News. N.p., 20Feb. 2015. Web. 16 Apr. 2015. <http://hospitalbusinessnews.com/2015/02/19/5-things-to-know-about-the-hospital-superbug-outbreak-at-ucla/>.

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. 17 10 2014. 08 02 2015.<http://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/when-how-handwashing.html>.

K. J. McGingley, E. L. Larson, and J.J. Leyden. "Composition and Density of Microfloral in thesubungual Space of the Hand." Composition and Density of Microfloral in the subungual Space of theHand 26 (1988): 950-953. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC266493/pdf/jcm00077-0182.pdf>.

Microbes.org. n.d. 08 02 2015. <http://microbes.org/microbes-importance/micreobes-human-health>.

Escamilla, Susana. "Bacteria Sampling." Airtek. N.p., 29 Jan. 2014. Web. 17 Apr. 2015.<http://www.air-tek.net/blog/bacteria-sampling/>.

"Proper Hand Washing Techniques." Speak For Change. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2015.<http://www.speakforchange.org/hand-hand-washing-soaps-health-antibacterial-healthy-living-washing-hands-properly/>.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSSylvester Turner Service Learning Grant

CONCLUSIONS

BACKGROUND

RESULTS

METHODS

• A bottle of hand sanitizer

• A bottle of foam soap

• A bottle of regular liquid soap

• Tap water

• Sterilized water

• 20 sterilized swabs

• 20 Petri dishes (with agar)

• Incubator

• Fridge

• Tape (to seal Petri dishes)

• Black Sharpie

MATERIALS

The Journey at Crockett Elementary

The main purpose of this service learning project was to encourage UHDstudents to apply the knowledge learned in the classroom and benefit thecommunity. Our project was a collaboration between Microbiology and UrbanEducation students to get elementary students excited and engaged inscience. The project was to understand the importance of hand washing.There are many microbial factors that can lead to the transmission ofbacteria, one common way is through the touch of our hands. Though it isnot possible to completely cleanse the hands with just tap water andscrubbing, a person may use hand sanitizer or antibacterial/regular soaps toeffectively boost the chances of removing unwanted bacteria and othermicrobes. We tested the idea that if hands are semi-clean when washed withonly water then applying soap or hand sanitizer will increase theeffectiveness in the removal of bacteria. We tested water only, handsanitizer, foam soap with water, and/or regular liquid soap with water. Thegoal was to learn which treatment is most effective at the 20 secondrequirement set by the CDC.

A person may wash his/her hands before and after eating a meal or afterusing the restroom because of sanitary reasons, but the question is are all bacteriaremoved with just hand washing? Or how long does it take for the human hand tocome in contact with bacteria again? Microbes can be found anywhere, whether itis under your bed or on the tip of your nose. Therefore, recontamination of thehands can occur in a blink of an eye. Cohabitation has always existed betweenhumans and microbes. Various studies have indicated that humans and microbeshave long established a symbiotic relationship with one another, since humans andthe microbes benefit from each other. However, not all microbes are humans’ bestfriends. The human skin is covered with an average of 10 million bacteria persquare centimeter of the skin, and the number varies on different parts of the body.Microbes can be found among the normal microflora of the skin. These bacteria liveon the skin while functioning as a barrier against other harmful microbes. But oncethe skin is broken or injured the risk of infection increases; there are also manyother ways of infection or the spreading of germs, for example if hygiene is poor.

There are two types of microorganism in a person’s body, the residentmicroflora and the transient microflora. The resident microflora are microorganismsthat resides permanently in and on the human body like the bacteriaStaphylococcus epidermidis. Meanwhile, the transient microflora aremicroorganisms that may be present in or on a human body depending upon theconditions present and only for a certain amount of time. An example of transientmicrobe is the measles virus; it enters a child’s body and when the immune systemstarts to fight off the virus, it can only live for a short amount of time. One of themost important steps in minimizing the chance of a bacterial infection is throughhand washing.

Group 1 (3 students) – Tap WaterLabel bottom of Petri dish –

“Group 1 – Tap Water.” Add date and initial each

student’s name.Wash hands with tap water

for 20 sec. Allow hands to air dry.

Take a sterilized cotton swab and dip it into sterilized water 1 time.

Swab each students’ right hand continuously.

Take cotton swab, used on all 13 students, and streak the whole Petri dish.

Discard swab in trash can and seal the Petri dish with tape.

Group 2 (3 students) – Hand SanitizerLabel bottom of the Petri dish

– “Group 2 – Hand Sanitizer.” Add date and initial each

student’s name.Squeeze a pea-size amount of

hand sanitizer onto the palm, rub all over hands. Allow hands to air dry.

Take a sterilized cotton swab and dip it into sterilized water 1 time.

Swab each students’ right hand continuously.

Take cotton swab, used on all 13 students, and streak the whole Petri dish.

Discard swab in trash can and seal the Petri dish with tape.

Group 3 (3 students) – Regular Soap and Tap WaterLabel bottom of Petri dish “Group

3 – R.S. and H2O.” Add date and Initial each

student’s name.Apply regular soap onto each

student’s hand (pea size).Rub hands together for at least

20 seconds, rinse with tap water and allow hands to air dry.

Take a sterilized cotton swab and dip it into sterilized water 1 time.

Swab each students’ right hand continuously.

Take cotton swab, used on all 13 students, and streak the whole Petri dish.

Discard swab in trash can and seal the Petri dish with tape.

Group 4 (4 students) – Foam Soap and Tap WaterLabel bottom of Petri dish “Group 4 – F.S. and H2O.” Add date and Initial each student’s name.Apply foam soap onto each student’s hand (pea size).Rub hands together for at least 20 seconds, rinse with tap water and allow hands to air dry.Take a sterilized cotton swab and dip it into sterilized water 1 time.Swab each students’ right hand continuously.Take cotton swab, used on all 13 students, and streak the whole Petri dish.Discard swab in trash can and seal the Petri dish with tape.

CA total of 13 students (control group) have conducted an experiment to determine which method is themost effective in the removal of bacteria. The experiment started out with the control group beingswabbed down (right hand) onto a petri dish that were then separated into 4 different groups afterward,each with different cleansers to test. Group 1-3 will consist of 3 students and the last group will have 4students (each group will receive 1 Petri dish per experiment).

Control (All 13 students) – Unwashed HandsLabel bottom of the Petri dish – “Control” and add date. Take a sterilized cotton swab and dip it into sterilized water 1 time.Swab each students’ right hand continuously.Take cotton swab, used on all 13 students, and streak the whole Petri dish.Discard swab in trash can and seal the Petri dish with tape.

Petri dishes were incubated at 37 degrees for 24-48 hours. Colonies were analyzed and recorded.

Control (13 students) –Unwashed Hands

Group 1 – Tap Water Group 2 – Hand Sanitizer Group 3 – Regular Soap

Group 4 – Foam Soap

Picture taken from Airtek website.

Picture taken from Speak For Change website.

Picture taken by Erika Roa

Based on the results obtained,• No treatments utilized in the experiment did not effectively removed allbacteria• Regular soap worked better than the other treatments• Perhaps longer washing is required to remove more microbes.• Therefore, hands should be washed frequently.

Gram Stain showing Gram positive rods from Control Sample