SN 206 Clinical Microbiology Lab Report

Part A -
Part B - objectives
1. Comparing the number oI microorganisms on palms beIore and aIter simple hand
washing with hibiscrub in order to Iind iI hand washing can remove more than 80 oI
microorganisms on hands.
2. By analyzing the growth oI Serratia marcesens Irom the result, to trace the source/index
case oI the epidemic in one group oI 12 students.
3. To Iind iI hand washing can reduce the spread oI inIection that can be transmitted by
direct contact by undergoing simple hand washing experiment and spread oI disease
experiment.
Part C - Results
Table 1 - The number oI microorganisms and number oI species oI microorganisms among 7
samples
Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 Sample 4 Sample 5 Sample 6 Sample 7
No. oI microorganisms
beIore hand washing
4 24 0 76 13 278 188
No. oI species oI
microorganisms beIore
hand washing
1 1 0 3 2 2 5
No. oI microorganisms
aIter hand washing
0 0 1 0 0 56 0
No. oI species oI
microorganisms aIter
hand washing
0 0 1 0 0 1 0
Table 2 - The intensity oI Serratia marcesens and other microorganisms among 3 handshakes
Plates 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
1
st
handshake
Intensity oI Serratia marcesens - - - - - - - - - -
Intensity oI other mircoorganisms - - - - - - - -
2
nd
handshake

Intensity oI Serratia marcesens - - - - - - - -
Intensity oI other mircoorganisms - - - - - - - - - - -
3
rd
handshake

Intensity oI Serratia marcesens - - - -
Intensity oI other mircoorganisms - - - - - - - - -
Keys oI Table 2
-
Absence oI Serratia
marcesens/microorganisms
light growth heavier growth very heavy growth

Part D - Discussion
iscussion hand washing experiment
AIter observation oI the agar plate, there are some microorganisms cultured on the plate. Most
oI these microorganisms look cream and have smooth surIace. Some oI them are grey in color.
These colonies on the plate should be normal Ilora on palm and transient microorganisms that
contact with the inIected sites. So it can be observed there are diIIerent species oI
microorganism in sample.
Normal Iloras are bacteria that are commensal in our bodies. They colonize the surIace oI the
skin, mucous membranes, digestive tract, upper respiratory system and distal portion oI the
urogenital system because diIIerent parts oI human body provide unique environments Ior them.
Normal Iloras have diIIerent Iunctions in our bodies. They can help us to compete with
pathogens such as Salmonella. And they can help us by providing vitamins or eliminating toxins
(e.g. Bacteroides).
Except direct contact, transient microorganisms can get into digestive tract by Iood or soil. They
may attempt to colonize the same areas colonized by normal Ilora, but they are unable to remain
in the body Ior long time because oI competition Irom resident microbes, elimination by the
body`s immune system and physical or chemical changes within the body that discourage the
growth oI transient microorganisms.
Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 Sample 4 Sample 5 Sample 6 Sample 7
The percentage oI the
change oI the no.
microorganisms beIore and
aIter hand washing
((0-4)/4)*
100
-100
((0-24)/2
4)*100
-100
((1-0)/0)*
100
100
((3-76)/7
6)*100
-96
((2-13)/1
3)*100
-85
((56-278)/2
78)*100
-80
((0-188)/1
88)*100
-100
According to the above result, it indicates that nearly all oI the sample can remove more than
80 oI microorganisms aIter hand washing. It proves that hand washing can help to remove
80 oI microorganisms that may cause disease. So, it is important to have regular hand washing
in clinical environment. Because hand washing can kill transient microorganisms on hands oI
health-care workers and reduce the spread oI disease in hospitals. Also, hand washing can
protect health-care workers themselves. It is because any wound on their hands can be the entry
oI bacteria and hand washing can help them to reduce the risk oI inIection.
However, Ior the Sample 3 result, it is abnormal Irom others. The expected result is the
decreasing number oI microorganisms aIter hand washing but Sample 3 had an increasing
number. Probably, there are some errors during doing Sample 3 experiment. Maybe the Sample
3 agar plate aIter hand washing was contaminated. Furthermore, the swap that Sample 3 helper
used was contaminated. Also, the Sample 3 helper may not take the sample immediately aIter
hand washing and contact some microorganisms on his hand. Those oI the above reasons can
cause the abnormality oI Sample 3 result.

iscussion Spread oI disease experiment

The inIectious diseases can be spread widely in community. To control the epidemic, the best
solution is to Iind the source oI disease and route oI transmission. In this experiment, we imitate
an outbreak that can be transmitted by direct contact.
There are pink colonies on some agars. It indicates that Serratia marcescens are present. Those
students are inIected aIter handshake with an inIected individual. An epidemic occurred. AIter
the 1
st
handshake, Plates 1&2 contain S. marcescens. AIter the 2
nd
handshake, S. marcescens are
spread to Students1, 2, 3&4. AIter the 3
rd
hand shake, 8 students are inIected in total.
It is Iound that Student 1 is the source. Plates 5, 7, 10&12 do not contain any pink colonies aIter
three handshakes so they must not be the source. Plates 6, 8, 9&11 do not have colonies oI S.
marcescens aIter 2
nd
handshake. We inIer that they are inIected aIter handshake with Students 1,
2, 3&4. The agars oI Students 3&4 do not have pink colonies aIter 1
st
hand shake, thus they
must be inIected aIter handshakes with Students 1&2. As a result, the source must be either
Student 1 or Student 2. The intensity oI Serratia marcescens in the agar oI Student 1 is higher
than that oI Student 2. Hence, Student 1 is the source oI this epidemic.
There is a doubtIul point in the result. The plate oI the source (Student 1) has the heavier growth
oI Serratia marcescens than that oI Student 2. Theoretically, the plate oI Student 4 who contacts
the source has the heavier growth than that oI Student 3. In Iact, Plate 3 contains heavier growth
than Plate 4. The reasons may be there is a bad handshake between Students 1&4, i.e. the
contact surIace is small and contact time is short. Also, Student 4 may smear the swab too
lightly.
This epidemic is transmitted by direct skin-to-skin contact handshake. It is assumed that the
inIection is exogenous. The microorganisms are transIerred Irom one person to another. irect
contact includes touching an inIected individual, handshake, sexual contact, contact with
respiratory secretions, or contact with body lesions. It will usually occur between Iamily, Iriends
and schoolmates. To prevent this epidemic, the general key is to avoid the direct contact with
inIected people, especially there is a break in skin. Moreover, washing hand with soap
Irequently can interrupt the transmission oI most disease as the previous experiment proves that
hand washing can remove the microorganisms eIIectively.
In addition, other colonies can be observed in the plates. These colonies could be the normal
Ilora on hands that could not be removed even aIter hand washing. They could be the
microorganisms in tap water that is used to dissolve sweets. Also, there might be contaminations
to the agars and swabs. These colonies are important in this experiment because these
microorganisms would complete nutrients in agars with S. marcescens and aIIect the results.
Part E - Conclusion
AIter undergoing two experiments, it is proved that hand washing is able to kill more than 80
oI microorganisms on hands. Also, we can control the spread oI inIection by washing hands
regularly and Iinding the source. And we have learnt the transmission oI disease can spread Iast
by direct contact, and we learn diIIerences between normal Ilora and transient microorganisms.