Experts provide tips on best practices to avoid illness-causing germs

By: ANNE RILEY-KATZ - Staff Writer | Saturday, October 16, 2004 4:29 PM PDT ∞

NORTH COUNTY ---- They're microscopic, they're invisible, and they're everywhere. They're germs, and they linger on desks, in sinks, on food and many other objects we handle on a daily basis.

With the school year well under way and the cold and flu season arriving, local and national experts are stressing health tips and common-sense caution to avoid the nasty little germs that keep people home from work and school.

The United States faces a serious shortage of flu vaccines this year because a major vaccine supplier announced earlier this month that it would not release a large portion of its inoculations.

The development, a result of the United Kingdom's suspension of the company's license to produce the vaccine there, makes germ prevention even more critical, since only high-risk groups ---- infants, seniors and pregnant women ---- are likely to receive flu shots this year.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American population is sick more than a total of 4 billion days each year, and more than 160,000 people yearly die in the United States from infectious diseases.

Many of those diseases are linked to germs that people contract every day, said Llelwyn Grant, a Centers for Disease Control spokeswoman.

Infectious diseases, ranging from colds and the flu to disabling polio, are caused by a wide variety of germs, both bacterial and viral.

The two main types of illnesses are viral, such as colds, the flu or the West Nile River virus, and bacterial infections, such as strep throat or pneumonia. And try as we might, there is no escaping germs.

"Bacteria and viruses are everywhere," said Dr. Marcelo Rivera, a Ramona family practice physician and former chief of staff at Palomar Pomerado Health. "A healthy body is able to deal with that, and control bacteria so germs don't overcome body's defenses."

All the dirt

When germs do penetrate the body's natural defenses, illness can set in, which is why all the maxims we hear about hygiene is in fact important for illness prevention.

Dr. Chuck Gerba, a professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona, has conducted numerous studies on the presence of germs and bacteria, including places they love to linger.

Bacteria tend to thrive in dark, moist places. Among the places that harbor germs and bacteria are sinks, water fountains, pens, keyboards, telephones and desktops.

Travelers beware: One of Gerba's studies found that the dirtiest places were airports and bus stations, while hospital restrooms were the cleanest, with fast-food restaurants falling in between.

Office environments also can harbor a lot of bacteria, Gerba said, making hygiene particularly important if workers share phones or other equipment.

Desks can be regular "bacteria cafeterias.'' A 2002 study found workplace desks in New York to be the dirtiest, while those in San Francisco were judged the cleanest.

Eating at a desk or workstation is one of the major contributors to workplace germs, one of the main reasons being that much bacteria is food-borne.

"There is more bacteria on people's hands after making a meal than after exiting the toilet," Gerba said.

Surprisingly, one of Gerba's studies found that kitchen sinks, along with dish towels, are often where the most germs are found.

The Centers for Disease Control also recommends using paper towels or disposable items rather than sponges or cloth towels for cleaning, since reuse after contact with a contaminated surface could spread germs.

Food can carry many types of bacteria, and a cutting board has about 200 times more bacteria than a toilet, Gerba's study found.

Foods that should be handled with particular care are meats, poultry, seafood and eggs.The incidence of food-borne disease relative to raw vegetables is on the increase, often because vegetables contact other contaminated foods, Gerba said.

To avoid cross-contamination between foods, Gerba suggested using different cutting boards when preparing meats and vegetables.

The more the merrier

Erica Haller-Stevenson, a health educator with the Centers for Disease Control, stresses that group environments, especially those with many young children such as schools or day-care centers, can have high levels of germs.

"Anywhere young children go, you have a breeding ground for germs and they will bring it home," Haller-Stevenson said. "Those conditions also exist anywhere a large amount of people can be, like lunchrooms or cafeterias."

Children are routinely exposed to illness-causing germs in school, and can easily bring the germs home with them, Haller-Stevenson said.

A study Gerba conducted this summer showed that children's hands were the dirtiest after returning from playgrounds, and that monkey bars and picnic tables carried the highest percentage of playground germs, largely because pigeons and other birds also use them.

Prevention

To prevent illness, the Centers for Disease Control stressed common-sense caution, especially proper hand washing.

Hands should be washed before, during and after food handling, before eating, after bathroom use, after handling animals or animal waste, when hands are dirty, and more frequently when someone in your home is sick.

Correct hand-washing technique is rubbing hands together vigorously with soap for 10 to 15 seconds before rinsing under hot water.

One of the best innovations, Gerba said, is antibacterial gel because of its effectiveness and portability.

"It's very effective in battling germs, often better than hand washing, particularly during cold and flu season," Gerba said.

One study showed up to a 50 percent reduction in cold and flu symptoms in children who were sent to school with the gels.

If you get sick

Though prevention is the best medicine, even the healthiest people get colds and the flu.

Once people become ill, the following tips are advised by doctors and health educators:

Wash your hands frequently. Hand washing is particularly important to stop germ transmission, especially to stop the spread of illnesses to others.

"Hand washing is the very best thing to do, particularly if you are sick or around others who are," Haller-Stevenson said.

Don't pressure your doctor to give you medication. In response to what experts are calling the over-prescription of antibiotics, which are medications designed to cure bacterial infections, a new Centers for Disease Control campaign is stressing patient education about appropriate antibiotic use. The danger in taking unnecessary antibiotics is that the body will develop an immunity to them, and they will cease to be effective.

Haller-Stevenson said that doctors often prescribe antibiotics without laboratory tests in response to patient pressure or concerns over insurance coverage.

"We found that among the biggest reasons doctors are prescribing antibiotics are pressure from patients and a lack of time to spend with patients, where it's just easier to write the prescription that take the time and expense to do testing," she said. "It's very much a part of western medicine culture that people are seeking something when they go (to the doctor), and don't want to leave empty-handed."

The bulk of over-prescribed antibiotics go to upper respiratory infections, most of which are viral and won't respond to the drugs.

Haller-Stevenson said people should not be tempted to medicate themselves just because the drugs may be available in neighboring countries.

"Don't send your family on their next trip to Mexico to buy you antibiotics because you think you need them," she said. "You're just building up resistance, and then they won't work on you at all."

Get lots of rest and avoid contact with others. Germs can be easily transmitted among people, and Rivera said the best course of action is to get plenty of rest, stay well-hydrated, and keep your germs to yourself.

"Use common sense," Rivera said. "Rest and heal yourself, don't go out when you are ill and spread it."

Common viral illnesses:

Common colds

Influenza (the flu)

Most sore throats

Some ear infections

Common bacterial infections:

Strep throat

Pneumonia

Some sinus infections

Certain ear infections (primarily in children)

Contact staff writer Anne Riley-Katz at (760) 731-5799 or ariley-katz@nctimes.com.