THE WORLD UNSEEN – ISSUE NO. 425

You just arrived to start your day at work. You reach out and open the door handle. You walk into the building and take in a breath of air. You shake the hand of a colleague. You handle phones, fax machines, tools, work supplies that your colleagues used moments before you. A few days later you're sick and you can't come into work. You wash your hands occasionally throughout the day, how could you be sick? There is a world of unseen pathogenic bacteria that can be spread airborne and with contact. If bacteria can be easily spread through your everyday environment can you imagine how much bacteria spreads in places such as hospitals and other health care facilities? Bacteria love moist, dark environments that have ample amount of protein and other nutrients imperative for growth. An excellent example of this is clinically-used, improperly processed flexible endoscopes. Biofilm begins to harden and build on the inside of the lumens of flexible endoscopes minutes after they're used. Since bacteria are microscopic, it is impossible to tell with the human eye if these lumens contain bacteria. All things considered, it is important to know if these flexible endoscopes are safe to use after reprocessing before being used on the next patient. Now we know not all bacteria are harmful since there are trillions of bacteria inside our bodies alone. Bacteria that are particularly worrisome are pathogenic gram negative bacteria. This includes antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. Healthmark' s NOW!™ Test can detect gram negative bacteria in lumens of flexible endoscopes that are reprocessed, using an enzyme based technology. This kit is an effective tool to screen if a flexible endoscope is reprocessed well and provides a method to determine the unseen world of bacteria.