Dr. Gerba, A World Renowned Microbiologist, Visits Our Home
February 25, 2009“Germ doctor reveals that germs in disaster areas are also found in our homes”
The Sexy Nomad and the Germ Doctor finally meet!
A microbiologist from the University of Arizona, Dr. Charles Gerba, is famous for finding out what kinds of germs & viruses (Shigella, Salmonella, Hepa A Virus, Norovirus, Astro Virus, Rota Virus, Adenovirus, Calicivirus, Influenza, Parainfluenza, StaphyloAureaus, E. Coli, etc.) lurk in the corners of people’s homes. He uses his ATP Luminometer, a gadget that can instantly detect the presence of germs and have tested areas like the newsroom of the Today Show, households, classrooms and offices all over the US. He has been to the houses of both Tyra and Oprah and now he’s come to see our very own!
To make his visit quite “special”, Peter and I decided not to clean the house as much just so we can get a fair and honest review of how much germs really accumulate in the dusty corners of our humble abode. We then invited a few of our friends to come party at our house while waiting for our famous visitor. Jayvee was the first to arrive (all this was made possible by him, actually. Thanks, Jayvee!), followed by Anne, Lauren and Marcuffs.
I had some booze & chips prepared at 8pm and by 9pm, our food from SuperBowl arrived (thanks to P&G and their PR personnel). Before long, Dr. Gerba arrived together with his entourage and camera crew. How exciting!
80% of all common infections like colds, flu and diarrhea are spread through the environment in the air, water, food and through fomites, which has long been the focus of Gerba’s research. He defined fomites as “porous and nonporous surfaces or objects that can become contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms and serve as vehicles in transmission.”
Dr. Gerba advised us that one of the best ways to start practicing good hygiene in order to fight germs, fomites, bacteria and microbes is not really about cleaning more (contrary to my belief) but about focused and targeted use of disinfectants particularly cleaning products with hypochlorite. Using them could greatly reduce the level of coliforms in infected items. Now, for those of us who find ourselves in public restrooms and other places, washing our hands with soap for at least 20 seconds is a good start, the same crusade echoed by Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC). You can also use alcohol and hand sanitizers. But it would be best if we use soap like Safeguard Professional Care.
Choose an antibacterial soap that provides you with the highest level of skin-germ protection like Safeguard Professional Care. It is uniquely formulated with the highest level of skin germ protection ingredient - 1.5 TCC (triclocarban), which helps keep skin infections from getting worse and washes away disease-causing germs.
We now come to the most exciting part of Dr. Gerba’s visit — germ testing! First, he chose a particular appliance or nook inside the house. Then he took out this big cotton swab and swabbed its surface. He then placed this inside the ATP Luminometer and waited 15 seconds for the machine’s verdict.
Testing the laptop of his colleague… Verdict? Dirty!!!!
L-R: Guest bathroom, Peter’s bathroom, my bathroom… Verdict? The guest bathroom’s toilet is the cleanest of the three.
Lauren’s bag survived the test! Wooho!
L:Peter did a bit of swabbing too. R: Even our floors are clean. Yay!
The guest room is A-OK!
My laptop survived the test too! Whecw!
Ack! Our pantry didn’t quite survive the test! It had more than 100,000 kinds of germs. I had to bleach it right after they left!
Basically, despite the fact that Peter’s bathroom sink is a lot cleaner than mine, despite the fact that our pantry proved to be the most dirty place inside the house, we still had the cleanest kitchen sink. Our floor, my laptop, our videoke microphone, DVD remote, guest room, Lauren’s bag and even our seemingly dirty surfboard are relatively clean. Dr. Gerba declared that so far, our house proved to be the most tidy. I think this is because we regularly use bleach when we clean the house, we have no kids, the house is almost always empty and dry and we always use alcohol and good soap like Safeguard.
It was a very educational evening for all of us. I guess it helps that I can be a tad bit O.C. sometimes… okay, probably more O.C. than I’d like to believe. Teehee. Again, thank you Dr. Gerba for gracing us with your presence and expertise. And more power to the brand new Safeguard Professional Care! Cheers to cleanliness!
Previous Comments
I really enjoyed it! I hope something like this happens again. Thanks Jayvee!!!! 
can I get the e mail address of Dr. Charles Gerba? I am an Engineer and I want to consult my invention regarding the detection of bacteria. Thank you Very Much
email me here:
to Dr. Charles Gerba
Dear Sir,
Good day! We are student nurses from Siena College Taytay and we are currently having a research study about the number of micro organism found in the stethoscope of student nurses. In line with this, we could like to ask for your help, we believe that with your gadget, you can help us count the micro organism in our stethoscope.You can email me at WendellASalvador@yahoo.com
We are hoping for your most favorable responses and thank you and may God bless you
We are working on a Grocery Cart Sterilization System. I was impressed by how quick you found the germs. Would it be possible to test after our process to see if we killed the germs ? We need your help.
Thank you.
hey al , i would like to more about this? could you say?
Posted by arhik at September 19, 2009, 10:25 pmAll comments are moderated. Your comments will not appear here unless approved by the blog owner. Thank you.
grabe, that was a super fun event!!
Posted by jayvee f. at March 1, 2009, 9:34 pm