Page 38 - Campus Security & Life Safety, May/June 2022

before the surfaces were cleaned. Recently, the time for the reestablishment of microbial contamination on student desks in schools was determined. The study showed that as the cleaning of desks physically removed about 50 percent of bacteria, fungi, and human cells, a full recovery of the surface contamination concentrations prior to cleaning occurred within 2-5 days. Based on such data, it’s practical that schools implement the cleaning and disinfection of all student desks and similar "hot spots” every day—or, if not economically or logistically feasible, then at least every 2-3 days.
Areas and Surfaces of Focus
While classroom surfaces (desks, tables, chairs) remain a major concern regarding microbial contamination in schools, other components of school environments—such as cafeterias, restrooms, locker rooms and gyms—require similar attention to cleaning, with a targeted focus on reducing the infectious disease potential. School kitchens and related areas, as obligated by public health code, must be cleaned and sanitized to prevent environmental contamination and transmission of bacterial pathogens such as E. coli, Listeria and Salmonella.
Similarly, restrooms must be effectively cleaned and monitored to prevent exposure and resultant student illnesses from a variety of pathogens, both gastrointestinal (noroviruses, E. coli) and respiratory (COVID-19, cold, and flu viruses). This is emphasized by results of a study in two daycare centers where 19 percent of surfaces tested were positive for rotavirus. Rotavirus contamination was found on drinking fountains, water play tables, toilet handles, and telephone receivers. There can also be other consequences associated with poor cleaning of school restrooms, with students describing them as “unpleasant, dirty, smelly, and frightening” and refusing to use them while at school, thus suffering consequences such as constipation, urinary tract infections, and incontinence.
Likewise, school locker rooms and gymnasium surfaces and materials, if improperly cleaned and disinfected, can increase transmission of infectious agents such as athlete’s foot fungi, Staphylococcus aureus, and Herpes viruses, with the potential for widespread outbreaks amongst students. A recent extensive review of the significance of surfaces in the spread of respiratory and enteric viral disease stated that “the rapid spread of viral disease in crowded indoor establishments, including schools, daycare facilities, nursing homes, business offices, and hospitals, consistently facilitates disease morbidity and mortality,”
“In a crowded environment like a school, a surface contaminated by one student can be touched by many others, who then touch other surfaces as they move around. And then each of those contaminated surfaces can be touched again by other people, and so the touching and contamination process continues.”
Student Safety
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38 campuslifesecurity.com | MAY/JUNE 2022