Understanding the Rapid Growth and Spread of MicroorganismJanice Vicente and Bara Sarraj

Introduction: Microorganisms are said to be the smallest living organisms on earth as we can also see them with the aide of microscope. Diseases and infection-causing bacteria posed a threat to the health-continuum balance. There are five types of microorganism; bacteria, fungi, virus, algae, protozoa. An experiment was conducted; we were able to understand that bacteria is the most prolific among the five and they are just all over the place. Some bacteria are beneficial, others cause spoilage, and a small percentage is harmful in which are called pathogens. It is very important that we understand the ubiquity of microorganism to prevent infection and to perceive where bacteria is abundant and what condition is favorable to its growth. Method: All four (4) groups selected a surface to sample; the fridge knob, the door knob, rest room door, and even the keyboard. A wet sterile swab with TSB was used to swab on the selected site. The swab was then dipped into the test tube and mixed with nutrient broth media. Another, sterile swab wet with TSB and was swabbed on the same surface and streaked on the Agar plate. The two sample were labelled and placed inside the incubator with a temperature of 37 degrees Celsius. After 2 days, the first sample has growth on it. The second sample, Agar Plate, was checked after 3 days and has few growth. The same procedure was done by all four (4) groups. Significant results can be seen on Table 1.Group No.SitePellicleSedimentTurbidityGrowthNo. of Plate Colony

1Fridge KnobNYU16

2Door KnobNYU30

3Sink KnobNYU20

4Rest Room Door KnobNYU212

Table 1Results: Our group selected the Fridge Knob. After ____ hours of incubation, there were few growth noted on the tube. There were few clumps and growth at the bottom. Uniform turbidity was also noticed. On the other hand, with an extra day allotted, there were more visible growth on the agar plate. It has 6 small rounded grayish in color colonies.Discussion: The bacteria is everywhere but only differs on how much they were contaminated. It was obvious that the rest room door knob was more contaminated than the others. Compare to other sample sites, restroom doorknobs were frequently used and more likely to be wet and exposed with body fluids and dirt. Therefore, contamination is higher and different kinds of bacteria where more likely to be found. Moreover, it shows that microorganism grows rapidly in time, and with a favorable condition and environment. There was a strong, linear relationship of time by days and bacterial growth by colonies with a correlation value of r = _____. In significant results of Grp. 1 and Grp. 4, there were noticeable increase in growth of bacteria in the plate as it was given 3 days to grow. With the right temperature, moisture, light, pH and nutrient, bacteria grow rapidly in a period of time. This suggests that bacterial pathogens could readily be transmitted between individuals by the touching of these surfaces and the importance of cleanliness and sanitary habits on the campus.In future studies, the method of measuring the bacterial colonies should be improved, so that the measurement is precise. The identification of bacteria is recommended through morphological studies to measure the extent of kind of intervention needed if necessary.