Effectiveness of gym equipment cleaning by University of Nebraska-Omaha’s Student Wellness Center users
Presenter Type
UNO Undergraduate Student
Major/Field of Study
Biology
Other
pre-med
Advisor Information
Paul Ayayee
Location
CEC RM #201/205/209
Presentation Type
Poster
Poster Size
36x24
Start Date
22-3-2024 10:30 AM
End Date
22-3-2024 11:45 AM
Abstract
Students, alumni, faculty, and guests visit the University of Nebraska-Omaha’s Student Wellness Center daily. Two frequent use areas are the North and South gyms. These gyms contain weightlifting areas with dumbbells and benches, as well as cardio equipments such as stationary bicycles and treadmills. Several factors may affect the bacterial diversity on equipment over time such as personal hygiene, surface cleaning, disinfection schedules of the facility, and number of people using the gym and each equipment type. However, it is also suspected that microbial communities could be unique to each gym area and equipment type. This study aimed to determine the microbial diversity on the surfaces of select gym equipments and how they change throughout the day in both the North and South gyms. Surface swabs of 3 treadmills, 3 benches, and 3 dumbbells from each north and south gym were collected upon the gym opening at 6 am. This sample collection was repeated for each equipment type and each gym again at 10:30 pm before gym closure. DNA was extracted from these samples and underwent PCR and submitted for sequencing of the 16SrRNA bacterial gene for identification of bacterial species. We are currently awaiting 16S sequence data for analysis. However, we expect to see differences between morning and evening microbial communities, due mainly to increased usage, across gym equipments. We also anticipate possible differences between North and South Gyms due to the equipment types and user traffic available at each.
Effectiveness of gym equipment cleaning by University of Nebraska-Omaha’s Student Wellness Center users
CEC RM #201/205/209
Students, alumni, faculty, and guests visit the University of Nebraska-Omaha’s Student Wellness Center daily. Two frequent use areas are the North and South gyms. These gyms contain weightlifting areas with dumbbells and benches, as well as cardio equipments such as stationary bicycles and treadmills. Several factors may affect the bacterial diversity on equipment over time such as personal hygiene, surface cleaning, disinfection schedules of the facility, and number of people using the gym and each equipment type. However, it is also suspected that microbial communities could be unique to each gym area and equipment type. This study aimed to determine the microbial diversity on the surfaces of select gym equipments and how they change throughout the day in both the North and South gyms. Surface swabs of 3 treadmills, 3 benches, and 3 dumbbells from each north and south gym were collected upon the gym opening at 6 am. This sample collection was repeated for each equipment type and each gym again at 10:30 pm before gym closure. DNA was extracted from these samples and underwent PCR and submitted for sequencing of the 16SrRNA bacterial gene for identification of bacterial species. We are currently awaiting 16S sequence data for analysis. However, we expect to see differences between morning and evening microbial communities, due mainly to increased usage, across gym equipments. We also anticipate possible differences between North and South Gyms due to the equipment types and user traffic available at each.