Disease Transmission (Elizabeth Nelson)

Title: Limiting the Spread of Pathogens/ Germs Through Proper Handwashing Technique

Principle(s) Investigated: Effective handwashing strategies

Standards:

• 1.5.P Investigate the causes and symptoms of communicable and noncommunicable diseases.
• 5.1.P Apply a decision-making process to a personal health issue or problem.
• 5.2.P Explain how decisions regarding health behaviors have consequences for oneself and others.
• 5.5.P Analyze the possible consequences of risky hygienic and health behaviors and fads (e.g., tattooing, body piercing, sun exposure, and sound volume).
• 3.1.P Access valid information about personal health products and services available in the community.
• 3.2.P Access valid information about common diseases.
• 2.2.P Evaluate influences on the selection of personal health care products and services.

Materials:

• Glo Germ (gel and powder)
• 2 stop watches
• Towels (1 per person)
• 2 UV lights
• 2 bottles of antibacterial soap
• Excel spreadsheet/data table
• PowerPoint Presentation

Procedure:

1. Question for students: How many of you have ever been sick with the cold of flu?
2. Explain relationship between microbes, pathogens, and communicable diseases.
3. Quickwrite: How can a communicable disease spread from one person to another? Provide at least one example.
4. Explain the three way communicable diseases can be transmitted
5. Quickwrite: Name an object or a location in this classroom where you may encounter a large concentration of germs/pathogens.
6. Introduce lab materials
7. Quickwrite: how long does it take you to wash your hands?
8. Students rub glow-germ all over their hands.
9. Students use UV light to examine hands and enter in a cleanliness value for 0 seconds on their data tables.
10. Go over data collecting instructions
11. Students take turns washing their hands for a specific time interval (pre-assigned); all members examine each others hands after each student’s time interval and as a group, decide on the level of cleanliness.
12. Students chart their data, analyze the chart, and then enter in their conclusion about the relationship between seconds and cleanliness in the quickwrite.
13. Discuss why handwashing is important.
14. Quickwrite: When should you wash your hands?
15. Discuss other applications.

Student prior knowledge:

Students have experienced being sick with a communicable disease such as the cold or flu and understand that they contacted this disease/illness from another organism. Students are familiar with common communicable disease such as influenza, malaria, typus, athletes foot, and food poisoning.

Explanation: The glo-germ lab with help students understand how many pathogens are still left on their hands after inadequate washing techniques, such as: not washing for at least 20 seconds, not using soap or water, not scrubbing hands, and/or not drying hands with a clean towel. The glo-germ (powder and lotion) along with the UV flashlight will simulate the presence of pathogens/germs; students will be able to see what is normally not visible to the naked eye (microorganisms). Students who wash their hands for at least 20 seconds will see a significant reduction in “pathogens” then when they first applied the glo-germ.

Questions & Answers:

1. What conclusions can you draw about the relationship between the time spent washing hands and the cleanliness of our hands? The more time we spend washing our hands, the less dirt and pathogens are left on our hands. You need to scrub long enough that the surfactants in soap can bond to dirt molecules and pathogens on our hands and lift them away from our skin, which will make it easier for water to rinse off.

2. Do you think all microbes are harmful? Explain. No, some bacteria are actually beneficial to our health, such as probiotics, which support digestive health. There are bacteria that live inside our large intestine that produce vitamin K. Some types of bacteria produce ethanol and lactic acid.

3. What other variables could be tested in this lab? Other variables that could be tested are temperature of water used to wash hands, as well as the type of soap used to wash hands. You could also test to see if hands were cleaner after using a towel or air-drying.

Applications to Everyday Life:

1. Pandemics and Epidemics: failing to practice proper hygiene techniques, such as properly washing our hands, contributes to the acceleration of communicable disease outbreaks.
2. Environmental Disturbance: Soap, water, and friction disrupt the environment of microbes on the hands, similar to ecological disturbances (fires, earthquakes, droughts).
3. UV light used to observe germs is also used in crime scene investigations to detect bodily fluids,such as urine.
4. Missing school days: failing to practice proper hygiene techniques, such as properly washing our hands, contributes to the acceleration of communicable disease within schools and results is more sick days.
5. Yeast in bread: it’s necessary to use all materials such as soap, water, and friction when washing our hands in order to reach desired outcome, similar to way the you need to use all the essential ingredients when baking or following a recipe. Failing to use yeast when making bread will keep dough from rising!

Photographs:

Videos: