Nancy Gay, Medical Reporter
You’ll see lots of bacteria and viruses throughout our lifetime, how you clean and sanitize will effect your chances of getting serious strains, such as Norovius or Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MSRA).
"MRSA can actually survive on surfaces for several days depending on the environment,” said Bill Toth, an epidemiologist for the Orange County health department.
MRSA, a form of staph that's resistant to most medicines, used to be a hospital acquired infection but it's working its way into the general community.
“Any good disinfectant is going to go a long way to reduce the MRSA infections or staph infections on surfaces. They're susceptible to chlorine,” Toth said.
The problem – most disinfectants don't last very long.
“They're good for a quick knock down, but most disinfectant have very little residual," Toth said.
This is where Patrick O'Brien and AirTech Solutions 4U steps in. His company uses a nanotechnology solution on top of a disinfectant to lengthen the lifespan of the disinfectant.
“This is a green technology product. It's water delivered and it has little robots that are designed to be able to do this, and once we put it on a surface these little robots stay there and actually kill molecules as they come over the top. They actually puncture the molecules and it drains and it's no longer a problem,” O'Brien said.
To see how contaminated a surface is O'Brien swabs an area and places it in a machine, which measures the light value of molecules in one spot.
He tested Nancy Gay’s gear bag.
It read 184. That means it's above what's known as "adult safe," which is no more than 150 molecules. Food safe is 30 and lower.
“We can't tell what it is. We just know it's there," O’Brien said.
That's why the Orange County Health Department says frequent washing is key.
“That keeps it out of our mouths and keeps it away from us,” Toth said.