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Have We Gone Anti-Bacterial Crazy?

Mountains of Clorox wipes and gallons of sanitizer later ... how do antibacterial agents affect humans and the environment?
Melissa Gerr
Mountains of Clorox wipes and gallons of sanitizer later ... how do antibacterial agents affect humans and the environment?

Dr. Amy Sapkota, professor of Applied Environmental Health at the University of Maryland studies links between real-world microbial exposures and infectious disease in humans.

Antibacterial agents are necessary, she says, but some are better and safer than others. And most of all:

“Handwashing is still one of the most important things you can do to prevent the spread of many different illnesses. So continued hand washing with just soap and water is really essential as we continue to combat this virus.”
Links: CONSERVE

Sheilah Kast is the host of On The Record, Monday-Friday, 9:30-10:00 am.
Melissa Gerr is a Senior Producer for On the Record. She started in public media at Twin Cities Public Television in St. Paul, Minn., where she is from, and then worked as a field producer for Oregon Public Broadcasting in Portland. She made the jump to audio-lover in Baltimore as a digital media editor at Mid-Atlantic Media and Laureate Education, Inc. and as a field producer for "Out of the Blocks." Her beat is typically the off-beat with an emphasis on science, culture and things that make you say, 'Wait, what?'