MEN VS WOMEN OFFICE STUDY

MEN VS WOMEN OFFICE STUDY Sheri L. Maxwell, B.S. Charles P. Gerba, Ph.D. Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science University of Arizona Tucson, AZ 85721 December 14, 2006

Purpose The purpose of this project was to determine the relative numbers of bacteria, molds and methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in offices and to differentiate the germiest offices between men and women. Several variables were considered including different areas of the office, men or women s offices, age of person, and geographic location. Methods A total of one hundred thirteen offices were tested in Washington, DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oregon and New York. Fifty-nine offices were occupied by women s and 54 by men. There were 17 sites tested in each office (Table 1). Eight sites were common to all offices (Table 2). Sites were sampled with sterile transport swabs (Becton Dickinson, Sparks, MD) and sent overnight packed in an ice chest to the University of Arizona and processed. Approximately four sq. inches was sampled at each location. Table 1. Sites sampled in office Table 2. Common sites in each office* 1. 1. 2. 2. 3. 3. 4. Keyboard 4. Keyboard 5.!!! key 5.!!! key 6. Pen 6. Pen 7. Bottom of drawer 7. Bottom of drawer 8. Handle of drawer 8. Handle of drawer 9. Knick knack 10. Make up case * same sites sampled in all offices 11. Purse/wallet 12. Nail file 13. Lotion 14. Palm Pilot 15. Water bottle 16. Cell phone 17. Coffee cup The numbers of heterotrophic bacteria (HPC) were determined on R2A media (Difco, sparks, MD) using the spread plate method. Samples were diluted using physiological saline for assay of 10-1 thru 10-3 dilutions. All dilutions were assayed in duplicate. The plates were then incubated at 30 C for 5 days.

Molds and yeasts were assayed on Sabouraud dextrose agar (Difco, Sparks, MD) containing 50 mg/l chloramphenicol. Samples were incubated at 30 C for up to 14 days and colonies counted. Staphylococcus aureus was assayed on Tryptic soy Agar amended with 5% sheep blood (TSA), 10 mg/l colistin, and 15 mg/l naladixic acid using the spread plate method (Chapin and Murray, 1999). The agar plates were incubated at 35 C for 24-48 hours. β- hemolytic colonies were isolated and passed onto unamended TSA plates and incubated at 35 C for 24-48 hours. Gram positive cocci, catalase positive, tube coagulase positive, slide coagulase positive and polymixin B resistant colonies were then placed onto MRSA CHROMagar (Becton Dickinson, Sparks, MD) to confirm as MRSA. Results and Discussion As seen in Figure 1, women s offices were germier than men s offices. The number of bacteria in women s offices was over twice than the number of bacteria in men s offices. These results are based on the 8 common sites of all offices sampled. Figure 1 Comparison of Bacteria in vs Offices 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0

Figure 2 shows the average number of bacteria according to the site sampled in men and women s offices. The site with the most bacterial numbers was the men s wallet, followed by the men s palm pilot. 1.0E+05 1.0E+04 Figure 2 Comparison of Sites in and 's Offices women men HPC CFU/ 4sq in 1.0E+03 1.0E+02 1.0E+01 1.0E+00 Keyboard!!! Key Pen Desk drawer bottom Handle of desk drawer Knick knack Make-up case Puse/Wallet Nail file Lotion Palm pilot Water bottle Cell phone Coffee cup Figure 3 shows the average number of bacteria in the women s offices for each site from the germiest site to the least germiest. The make-up case had the highest number of bacteria and the!!! key had the least amount of bacteria. The top three sites with the most bacteria in the women s office are the make-up case, phone and purse. Figure 3 Number of Bacteria According to Site in 's Office 1.0E+04 1.0E+03 1.0E+02 1.0E+01 1.0E+00 Make up Purse Lotion Keyboard Desk drawer bottom Nail file Water bottle Coffee cup Cell phone Pen Knick knack Desk drawer handle!!!! Key

Figure 4 show the average number of bacteria according to the site sampled from the germiest to the least germiest in the men s offices. The wallet had the highest number of bacteria and the!!! key had the lowest number of bacteria. The top three with the highest number of bacteria were the wallet, palm pilot and phone. The top three sites in both the men and women offices are the wallet/purse, phone, and the palm pilot/make-up case, showing a unique correlation between personal items of men and women. 1.0E+05 1.0E+04 1.0E+03 1.0E+02 1.0E+01 1.0E+00 Figure 4 Number of Bacteria According to Site in 's Offices Wallet Palm pilot Knick knack Deak drawer handle Coffee cup Keyboard Water bottle Pen Cell phone Desk drawer bottom Lotion!!!! had the germiest offices in every location except Washington, DC, according to Figure 5. The women s office in Oregon had the highest number of bacteria, followed closely by San Francisco. had the germiest offices in LA and the least germiest in Oregon. Figure 5 Comparison of Bacteria Numbers According to Geographic Location 1.00E+04 1.00E+03 1.00E+02 1.00E+01 DC LA San Francisco NY Oregon

Figure 6 shows the comparison of the number of bacteria on surfaces in an office according to age. According to Figure 6, the adage of dirty old men has found scientific foundation. The results for women is the opposite, showing the lowest level of bacteria numbers for the offices of younger women. Figure 6 Comparison of Bacterial Numbers and Office According to Person's Age 1.E+04 1.E+03 1.E+02 1.E+01 20-29 30-39 >40 Figure 7 shows that women s offices also had higher numbers of mold and yeast than men s offices. On one occasion, adjacent offices at a single location had the largest number of yeast contamination of all offices sampled. It might be of interest to take note of your neighbor s hygiene practices, so sharing of bacteria and yeast doesn t occur. When yeast and mold were found in an office, it was found on multiple sites in the office, indicating the ability to be easily spread through office environment. Figure 7 Comparison of Mold and Yeast According to and 's Offices CFU/4 sq cm 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 Mold Yeast

Figure 8 shows the top four sites for mold isolation is identical in both the men and women's offices. Figure 8 Top Four Sites of Mold Isolation in and 's Offices 25 Frequency of Isolation on Sites 20 15 10 5 0 Desk drawer bottom Figure 9 shows the percent of men and women who keep food in their desk drawer and had mold contamination. The desk drawer where food was kept could be the initial sight of mold and it is then spread to the top four sites common to men and women, as shown in Figure 8. Figure 9 Comparison of Food in the Desk Drawer and Mold Isolation 80 60 Percent 40 20 0

and women's offices that were regularly disinfected had fewer bacteria than offices that were not disinfected (Figure 10). Forty two percent of the women reported using a disinfectant in the office versus only thirty five percent of the men reported using a disinfectant. Figure 10 Comparison of Bacterial Numbers for and According to Disinfectant Use 1.00E+04 HPC CFU/4sq in 1.00E+03 1.00E+02 Don't Use Disinfectant Regularly Use Disinfectant 1.20E+03 444 3.40E+03 511 Table 3 shows that MRSA was isolated more from men s offices than women s offices. All MRSA colonies were isolated from the phone, mouse, keyboard, desktop and desk drawer bottom. This organism is a case of serious skin infections. Table 3. Frequency of MRSA isolation Office occupant Times isolated 2 5

CONCLUSIONS 1. Females have germier offices than males 2. Females have more bacteria, mold and yeast in their offices than males 3. Top three germiest surfaces in the office Make up case Purse Wallet Palm Pilot 4. s wallets are germier than women s purses 5. If you have yeast and/or mold in your office, it is all over your office 6. Mold was isolated the most often in the bottom of the desk drawer. So was the occurrence of food. You are more likely to have mold in your desk if you store food in your desk. 7. are more likely to have food in their desk than men. 8. Top four moldiest sites in the office Desk Drawer bottom Desk Drawer bottom 8. People who say they use disinfectants have less than 1/4 the number of bacteria than those that say they do not. 9. MRSA, a bacterial pathogen, was isolated from 6% of the offices (~1 in 15). 10. MRSA was isolated twice as often in men s offices than woman s offices.