Not Only Files Can Get Transfer, Germs Can Too!

Aloha Guys! We meet again at last! Moving on, now we want to tell you how germs can transfer from one place to another place.

According to Minnesota Department of Health, there are 5 common ways germs are spread:

• Nose, mouth, or eyes to hands to others

Germs can spread to the hands by sneezing, coughing, or rubbing the eyes and then can be transferred to other family members or friends. Simply washing your hands can help prevent such illnesses as the common cold or eye infections.

• Hands to food

Usually germs are transmitted from unclean hands to food by an infected food preparer who didn’t wash his or her hands after using the toilet. The germs are then passed to those who eat the food. This is easily prevented by always washing your hands after using the toilet and before preparing food items.

• Food to hands to food

Germs are transmitted from raw foods, such as chicken, to hands while preparing a meal. The germs on the hands are then transferred to other uncooked foods, such as salad. Cooking the raw food kills the initial germs, but the salad remains contaminated.

• Infected child to hands to other children

Germs are passed from a child with diarrhea to the hands of the parent during diaper changing. If the parent doesn’t immediately wash his or her hands, the germs that cause diarrhea are then passed to others.

• Animals to people

Wash your hands after petting animals or touching any surfaces they come into contact with.

Disease-causing organisms can also be passed along by indirect contact. Many germs can linger on an inanimate object, such as a tabletop, doorknob or faucet handle. When you touch the same doorknob grasped by someone ill with the flu or a cold, for example, you can pick up the germs he or she left behind. If you then touch your eyes, mouth or nose before washing your hands, you may become infected.

When you cough or sneeze, you expel droplets into the air around you. When you’re sick with a cold or the flu—or any number of other illnesses—these droplets contain the germ that caused your illness. Crowded, indoor environments may promote the chances of droplet transmission.

Some disease-causing germs travel through the air in particles considerably smaller than droplets. These tiny particles remain suspended in the air for extended periods of time and can travel in air currents. If you breathe in an airborne virus, bacterium or other germ, you may become infected and show signs and symptoms of the disease. Tuberculosis and SarS are two infectious diseases usually spread through the air, in both particle and droplet forms.

Some germs rely on insects—such as mosquitoes, fleas, lice or ticks—to move from host to host. These carriers are known as vectors. Mosquitoes can carry the malaria parasite or West Nile virus, and deer ticks may carry the bacterium that causes Lyme disease.

Well, those are the common ways germs are spread. Now let’s move on to the ‘uncommon’ ways germs are spread. Are you ready?

Do all of you familiar with kissing? Ah, not literally by the way. For you who already kissing your boyfriend or girlfriend, well that’s okay. For you who don’t know kissing, even the dictionary definition? Well..........sucks to be you. Ehm....back again to kissing, did you realize when you kiss somebody, French kissing style can French kiss can transfer up to 80 million bacteria from one person to another. Are you serious?! Yes, we are serious.? Don’t belive it? Check this facts below.

For the study, 21 couples visiting a zoo in Amsterdam were asked to lock lips for 10 seconds. Before the kiss, one member of each couple drank a yogurt drink containing specific strains of bacteria. After the kiss, the researchers swabbed the mouth of the partner who hadn’t drunk the yogurt, and then did a bacterial count of the strains from the yogurt to arrive at the 80 million figure.

Just 10 seconds kissing and you already spread 80 millions germs? I have one thing to say: Woah.

Still not convince? Keep reading facts down below.

Researchers discovered that the bacteria on the tongues of couples was much more similar than the oral bacteria of two strangers. “Apparently, being with somebody for an extended amount of time and having a relationship leads to a similar collection of bacteria on the tongue,” Kort says.

In order to find out just how similar the shared bacteria were, one person in the couple was instructed to sip a probiotic yogurt drink, wait a bit and kiss their partner a second time. The probiotic bacteria, which aren’t usually found in the mouth, indeed transferred: along with about 80 million other bacteria. Through questionnaires, the team found that the more often a couple kisses, the more bacteria they seem to share.

“There are a number of studies that show if the diversity in bacteria increases—more different types of species—this is a good thing,” Kort says. Kissing might also act as a form of immunization, he adds, allowing you to build up resistance from exposing yourself to more microorganisms. “If you look at it from this point of view, kissing is very healthy.” (Of course, he admits, the health boons kind of depend on who you’re kissing, and what types of oral microbial colonies they have).

Unbelieveable isn’t it? After reading this, still want to kiss your boyfriend or your girlfriend? Well, that’s a wrap guys! Remember, “Be Aware, Wash With Care”. See you soon!

Sources: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/17/bacteria-kiss-how-many-transfer_n_6171034.html, http://www.health.state.mn.us/handhygiene/why/5ways.html, http://oklahoma4h.okstate.edu/aitc/lessons/upper/pandemic.pdf, http://time.com/3587838/bacteria-spread-kissing/