A Knowledge From E. Coli Experiment
Escherichia coli, commonly known as E. coli, is a gram-negative toxin that forms aerobic bacteria. E. Coli is a rod-shaped bacterium that can be found in the lower intestine of organisms that are warmblooded (Escherichia Coli Bacteria, 2016). There are about 200 different Escherichia Coli that produces Shiga toxin. Which over 100 of those E. colis have been associated with human diseases (Eurosurveillance, 2017). The strain of E. coli that produces Shiga toxins is O104:H4. This strain caused a large outbreak in Europe in 2011, which was commonly referred as EHEC. E. coli O157:H7 is one of the strains that produces the Shiga toxin, which is one of the most powerful toxins. Strain O157:H7 can make people extremely sick. It can cause abdominal cramps, vomiting, and bloody diarrhea, kidney failure, seizures, confusion, and a fever (Felson, 2018). Which E. coli a leading cause of acute kidney failure in children. The two major Shiga toxin types, Stx1 and Stx 2, are the ones that have been found with strains that cause human diseases (Eurosurveillance, 2017). This strain of E. Coli is known to cause intestinal infections (Eurosurveillance, 2017). Escherichia coli grow slowly at refrigeration temperatures. E. coli is able to survive in acidic food products, which can be foods such as mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, and ground beef (Albrecht, 2018). E. coli is also found in humans and animals intestines (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019). Escherichia coli growth conditions can range from temperatures of 39-113 degrees Fahrenheit, the optimum temperature being 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit (Albrecht, 2018). Most E. coli strains are harmless while others can make people sick. In fact, Escherichia coli can help maintain a healthy digestive tract if it does not contain a harmful strain. Escherichia coli strains that are harmful can cause urinary tract infections, respiratory illness, pneumonia, and many other harmful illnesses (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019). E. coli prevention can be simple through washing hands, counters, and utensils after they touch raw meat. For the experiment being conducted, washing counters is an effective way to not get sick from E. coli. With using sprays it can be a prevention to E. coli on counter tops.
To act as the independent variable in this experiment there will be three antibacterial sprays used to fight off the bacteria. These sprays are known to be able to disinfect hundreds of germs on the surfaces of our world. The first spray is Lysol Disinfectant Spray. This spray is a hospital-grade spray and is advertised to be able to kill 99.9% of germs, even the famous norovirus (stomach flu) that affects many people across the globe. Lysol states that their disinfecting spray is capable of preventing mold and mildew, as well as the cold and flu virus, while also being able to keep all the surfaces most commonly used in a household, clean and free of fungi, bacteria and more (Lysol, 2019). The second spray being used in this experiment is Clorox Disinfecting Spray. This spray is advertised to be able to kill over 64 types of organisms in just 3 minutes and hundreds in just a little more time, including the well known Escherichia Coli, the bacteria used in this experiment. Clorox gives information about all the different types of organisms that their spray can kill and the amount of time the spray needs to stay on that surface in order to kill that specific organism/bacteria/virus people might need to kill (most common time is 3 minutes, though some organisms take from 30 seconds, up to 10 minutes). Some common examples of organisms Clorox Disinfectant Spray can kill are Esherichia Coli, many versions of Salmonella, many versions of Strep, Norovirus, Influenza, Herpes strands, and much more (Clorox, 2019). The third spray will be a fantastik bleach spray. Bleach was the first to be invented out of all of these and is the most common spray that shoppers pick. According to BCHS Cleaning & Hygiene Supplies, “It kills germs quickly and it is effective across a broad spectrum of pathogens, which is why it is so popular as a disinfectant.” (Bunzl CHS Blog, 2019). This shows that Bleach is very effective because it kills germs quickly but that it is also a very popular disinfectant. The idea of disinfectant or antibacterial sprays came to life in many places in ancient times, one of those places being in ancient Egypt. Egyptians used wine and vinegar to clean or disinfect their surfaces, now, in present times, it has become a science that others spend their lives studying and perfecting. (Stowe, 2018).
Antonie Van Leuwenhook made a groundbreaking discovery in 1695. He discovered microorganisms, he discovered that there is so much more to the world than what the eye can see. Before, methods of 'disinfecting' consisted of burning things with Sulphur, fire, or burying the object thought to be infected. This method was justified by the idea that if a reaction is observed during the 'disinfection' process, then the job is being done and taken care of because they can see the diseases, or the bacteria burning away. With Leuwenhook's discovery, people now knew that there were things unseen to the eye that could kill them, this also meant that there had to be a way to kill these organisms without having a visible reaction, which was foreign to society at this time. In the article it states, 'in 1676, scientists started realizing that these previously unseen organisms could be capable of causing disease, and in turn, chemicals could potentially kill these organisms without a visible reaction to the eye' (Stowe 2018). His amazing discovery changed the way the world looked at the 'study of the use of chemicals to kill microorganism(s) on a variety of surfaces and settings' (Stowe, 2018). Antibacterial sprays, used to help kill bacteria and other microorganisms are being studied and released out into the public on the regular thanks to one discovery that changed the world and made it a far healthier place than it would have been without these tools to help the world out. Although some disinfectants being released today are not considered the safest things to be using, they kill most of the bacteria and, when compared to the past methods, are better than nothing. Lysol and Clorox brands, known for their antibacterial products, are the result of Leuwenhook's discovery, as both leading brands in the United States are taking the microscopic world by storm. Lysol and Clorox are brands that citizens of this planet stand by and are both proven to kill germs and keep the homes of thousands, safe and clean.
As a related experiment, multiple students from Miami University took on an experiment similar to the one being conducted in this paper. Their experiment will be trying to identify what type of bacteria lies in their college dorm bathrooms. These students expect to find multiple different kinds of common bacteria in the bathrooms, such as 'E-Coli, Staphylococcus Aureus, Streptococcus, Campylobacter, and Salmonella. We also expect standard household cleaners such as Lysol to be sufficient disinfectants' (Jones et. al. 2014). In their report they state that they will be looking for E-Coli which is the bacteria being used in our experiment. These students are also testing and, as it states in the text, expecting, that household disinfectants such as Lysol will get the job done and clean the surface for the most part. In a condensed form the experiment is essentially trying to determine how much bacteria is held in bathrooms before and after cleaning. They tested primarily showers, door handles, sink, and toilets. One sample is taken before using Lysol, one of the same products being used in this paper's experiment, and the other sample is taken after using Lysol. This will be done to every surface they test and clean. This experiment could help determine and predict the experiment being conducted in this paper because it is testing, using, and looking for all of the same things being tested, used, and looked for in this paper's experiment. Lysol is being used to kill the bacteria gathered from the bathrooms, and E-coli is expected to be found and killed. The results of this experiment can also help possible predictions for other experiments. They found that 50% of bacteria were killed off after cleaning (with the Lysol) had occurred (Jones et. al. 2014). One major discovery was found, major in the sense of our experiment: after cleaning almost all of the different bacteria's percentages went down except for E-Coli. 'And E-coli actually increased from 1% to 2% after being cleaned' (Jones et. al. 2014). Although it only increased by less than 1%, this is an outcome that was not expected and can for sure affect predictions of future experiments. 'bathroom cleaning methods are effective on Staphylococcus, Campylobacter, and Streptococcus, however, it did not affect Salmonella at all, and increased the percent coverage of E-coli, though only by less than 1%' (Jones et. al. 2014). By reading and now gaining the knowledge that this experiment brings to the table, certain predictions can be made more effectively for our own experiment as well as having evidence to back it up fully.
