ENCOUNTER

 MICROORGANISMS IN MY OFFICE

Working at the bank was my dream job when I was growing up. I guess i took the inspiration from my family which was made up of Accountants.

After completing my bachelor's degree i had a job with a well known bank. After a year and half of working, one bad morning a colleague called in because he had an emergency and i had to leave my post and replace him due to the long cue at the branch that morning.

after being in his cubicle for about an hour and serving about ten or more customers, I started sneezing then it became serious and continuously. It just couldn't stop and my nose running furiously. My face looks pale all of a sudden. My boss and colleagues became alarmed and were wondering were I suddenly got that cold since I was doing well when I got to work earlier in the morning.

I had to leave work around 2pm that day to see the doctor because my temperature began to rise. After some tests were conducted I was told I  had the para-influenza virus and this virus is responsible for many disease including cold and flu. He gave me some medication and two days off from work so that i cannot affect my colleagues or customers with the flu. I did not asked much about the virus because I guess I did not care much about microorganisms at that time so i went for my prescription and drove home

Transmission electron micrograph of parainfluenza virus. Two intact particles and free filamentous nucleocapsid

I felt better and went back to work after the two days off and luckily for me my colleague has also return so I did not go back to his cubicle. I was surprise to see him suffering from severe cold that morning and he told me he had it from the office when he returned yesterday and he was also told i was not at work because I had a severe cold .


When I became interested in science and health care I made some enquries about the para-influenza virus and found out that they are can found on office desks and I could have even had it from counting some contaminated money which was hosting the virus. According to Chuck Gerba, a professor of environmental microbiology at the University of Arizona, it is wrong to neglect the infectivity of our immediate work area. As part of his thesis, he identified 511 germs per square inch on keyboards, a figure climbing up to 3865 on some handsets.

Due to this encounter I have learn to keep all my surroundings including my work area clean and free from microbes as possible as i can and have never forgotten my mum's first cleaning rule, thus first thing to do when you come home from work, grocery shop or anywhere is to wash your hands with soap and water. I have always encourage others around me to do the same too.

                                                  Para influenza virus