Bacteria can walk?---Whoa, Nellie!---Bacteria can walk!

Image Credit: Gerard Wong, UCLA

Well, I knew there had to be an explanation.  It couldn't be that bacteria spread from patient to patient because hand hygiene compliance is only 60%.  No, it can't be our fault.  Now, there is finally data for surgeons to use when they say they're too busy to wash their hands.  They can just say that the bacteria will just walk to the next patient room anyway, so why bother.  Well, maybe not exactly...

There is a new study out in Science from scientists at UCLA, Houston, Illinois and Notre Dame that identified a new surface motility mechanism in Pseudomonas aeruginosa whereby they were able to stand upright and "walk" in a verticle orientation. This was thought to allow for surface exploration, improve surface detachment and perhaps enhance biofilm formation.

So maybe washing our hands makes them too slippery for bacteria to walk on and they just trip?  OK, I just made that up. Anyway, it probably remains a good idea to perform proper hand hygiene.

Gibiansky et al. Science 8 October 2010

h/t: ars technica, Nobel Intent post