Healthcare Hygiene magazine January 2020 | Page 10

under the microscope
By Rodney E. Rohde, PhD, MS, SM(ASCP)CM SVCM, MBCM, FACSc
A Microbial Home for the Holidays?
T
he holidays are a time for family and friends to get
together and share memories. These times often
include visits to see grandparents and others in a variety
of settings, whether it is the home or a long-term care or
assisted living facility. Likewise, as we approach 2020, we
often surround ourselves with not only loved ones, but
others that have traveled from across a vast geographic
landscape. These gatherings are full of wonderful times of
reconnecting, sharing food and drink, and visits with old
and new acquaintances.
The holidays are an amazing time and we should all
enjoy them to the fullest. However, there is a bit of a dark
side to holiday season. Our own microbial population also
comes along with us and/or we encounter new microbial
visitors in our travels. Exposure to more people than usual
can increase our chances of becoming ill. So, during this
holiday season, spending some time to take extra precautions
may help keep you from catching someone else’s illness or
if you are ill, preventing the spread to others.
One thing we do not want to give or receive during the
holidays is an infection. One of the major concerns during
the holiday season in North America is how this time of the
year coincides with cold and flu season. Everyone catches a
cold (usually a rhinovirus) from time to time and, for most
people, a cold causes a week or so of feeling miserable: stuffy
nose, headache, cough, and more, and then it goes away.
The cough associated with a cold can last for a while longer,
sometimes weeks if it is a particularly nasty one. However,
some people can become seriously ill if they catch a cold.
The virus can make them vulnerable to developing other
illnesses, like bronchitis or even pneumonia, particularly
among the very old, very young, or those who have weakened
immune systems or chronic illnesses. Pneumonia is the most
common cause of sepsis and septic shock, according to the
American Thoracic Society.
Influenza is another easily spread virus in close quarters.
The flu is not a gastrointestinal illness; there is no such thing
as the stomach flu. Influenza is a serious respiratory infection.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), depending on the flu season, between 9.3 million
and 49 million people in the U.S. are affected annually,
with 140,000 and 960,000 flu-related hospitalizations,
and up to 79,000 deaths each year. Grandparents visiting
their grandchildren could be particularly at risk. Children
are “super-spreaders” of flu and the over-65s are one of
the “at-risk” groups that can develop health complications,
such as pneumonia, if they catch it.
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To make matters worse, the flu virus can live on surfaces
(doorknobs and tables) — and potentially infect people — for
48 hours, according to the CDC. This serves as an important
reminder that all surfaces matter in the war on healthcare
associated infections (HAIs) and pathogen transmission.
Remember, a home or community environment can serve as a
reservoir too for any pathogen or antimicrobial resistant microbe
such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), parainfluenza (croup),
or even pertussis (whooping cough) to name a few others.
Flu may spread to others up to 6 feet away. Droplets can
land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or
inhaled into the lungs. Less often, a person may touch a surface
contaminated with the flu virus, and then touch their mouth,
nose or eyes. Someone with the flu is most contagious for the
first three to four days after becoming sick. However, adults
can infect others a day before symptoms are apparent and
up to five to seven days after becoming sick. Young children
and people with weakened immune systems are contagious
for longer.
Gastroenteritis (GE) is another illness often mistakenly
referred to as a “stomach flu.” GE occurs when a microbe
infection irritates and inflames the gastrointestinal lining,
resulting in nausea, vomiting, cramping, stomach pain, fever,
and diarrhea. The infection spreads either through direct contact
with someone who is already ill, through touching objects that
have the bacteria or virus on it, or through contaminated food
or drink. Because of the many ways it spreads, it is particularly
important to be vigilant when you are at a large gathering.
To avoid giving or receiving these unwanted microbial
“gifts,” one can do several things for prevention:
• Wash your hands and properly discard of
tissues, etc.
• Ensure that cold food is kept cold and hot
food hot.
• Get the seasonal flu vaccine (and other recom-

mended vaccines).
• Stay away from gatherings if you are ill.
• Avoid others who are ill. 

Rodney E. Rohde, PhD, MS, SM(ASCP)CM SVCM, MBCM,
FACSc, serves as chair and professor of the Clinical Laboratory
Science Program at Texas State; associate director for the
Translational Health Research Initiative; as well as associate dean
for research in the College of Health Professions. Follow him
on Twitter @RodneyRohde / @TXST_CLS, or on his website:
http://rodneyerohde.wp.txstate.edu/
january 2020 • www.healthcarehygienemagazine.com