Schools Can Be a Hotbed of Bacteria

Oct. 3, 2006 — -- Like millions of kids across the country, 10-year-old Nick Werner hops on a school bus each morning, bound for Oak Grove Elementary School in Lewisbug, Tenn., for a busy day of school and fun.

What he does not know is that his daily activities will expose him to something other than a fifth-grade education: potentially harmful germs.

Avoiding germs is nearly impossible, something Nick's mom, pediatrician Denise Werner, knows well.

In addition to Nick's two younger sisters, Werner comes in contact with sick kids every day at her medical practice.

She knows how easily germs can spread and how hard it is for parents to prevent sickness.

"Typically, when you have small kids, it's hard to make sure that they're getting their hands clean and that they're not touching things that have germs on them and then touching each other," she said.

An elementary school, where kids share practically everything, is a potential Petri dish of possibility to spread germs.

"Good Morning America" had microbiologist Robert Donofrio, director of the microbiology lab at public health and safety firm NSF International in Ann Arbor, Mich., spend a day following Nick around school.

Donofrio swabbed everything Nick touched and later analyzed it for a germ count.

For the instant germ readings, Donofrio used a hand-held germ meter, which offers a broad sense of the total number of microorganisms present.

A reading above 300 on the meter means microorganisms abound.

"What we're looking for are any bacteria, yeast or mold that might be present on various surfaces or areas that the children might come into contact with during the day," Donofrio said.

In the classroom Nick touched his desktop, a pencil, a pencil sharpener and the water fountain spigot.

The germiest spot was surprising. The water fountain had the highest count: 2,335.

Then Nick's class headed to the gym for an action-packed gym class.

Nick hit the mat for push-ups, worked out with an ab roller, and dribbled a basketball. The piece of equipment with the highest germ count was a shocker.

The basketball, which dozens of students had touched, yielded the highest reading of the day: 13,987.