Focus: Environmental Services

Are cleaners sanitizing and disinfecting too much?

Doctor says routine cleaning and maintenance of large water systems are key to preventing patients from falling ill


Dr. Jack Gilbert, associate director of the Institute for Genomic and Systems Biology at Argonne National Laboratory, believes that hospitals should have more microbial diversity. In other words, they need more dirty, according to an article on the CleanLink website.

Dr. Gilbert and science writer Ed Yong told New York Post reporters that being exposed to more bacteria and microbes can actually improve health.

In fact, removing the rich microbial ecosystem from hospitals could be attributed to the increase in drug-resistant superbugs and infection-causing viruses. 

According to Yong, the vast majority of bacteria that exists inside humans is harmless and, in fact, act as protectors to boost immune systems. They also help develop internal organs, they replace dying and damaged cells, and they help bodies absorb and store nutrients and fats.

Read the article.



April 30, 2019


Topic Area: Environmental Services


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