GOT ONE: Microbiologist Jack Gilbert samples microorganisms in a room of a new hospital prior to the building’s opening.COURTESY OF JACK GILBERT
Whenever human beings settle into a new house, vacation spot, or office, they aren’t unpacking alone; the menagerie of microbes that hitch rides on our bodies and belongings are busy making themselves at home, too. In less than a week, the members of our personal microbiome—sloughing off our skin by the millions—will nestle into bedroom carpets, kitchen corners, and central air ducts, elbowing their way among the already resident bacteria and viruses. And, for better or worse, these tiny tenants will inevitably influence our health.
Common as this scenario is, now imagine moving into a hospital, where microbial communities from medical staff and sick patients also reside.
“People expect not to get sick when they go into the hospital, but of course it happens—very regularly,” ...
