Microbial Secrets

You have touched more bacteria today than you will ever know.

Most of it will not hurt you. Some of it might. And a small number of the organisms in this book have changed the course of human history.

I wrote Microbial Secrets: Inside the World of Bacteria, Viruses, and Fungi because after nearly three decades in Environmental Services and healthcare, I got tired of people being either dismissive about microbes or terrified of them. The truth is more interesting than both of those reactions.

This book covers 67 bacteria, viruses, and fungi, the ones that show up in hospitals, in homes, in headlines, and in your body right now. Each entry is written in plain language. No jargon for the sake of jargon. Just what it is, what it does, how it is treated, how to control it in your environment, and something genuinely surprising about it that most people never get told.

If you have ever wondered:

• What that pink film in your shower actually is
• Why hospitals are so afraid of C. difficile
• What norovirus is doing to you when it hits
• Why your dog came home from the kennel coughing
• What MRSA really means and who is most at risk

This book gives you a straight answer.

It is for the housekeeper who takes pride in a truly clean space and wants to know what she is actually fighting. It is for the parent up at 2am trying to understand what their child brought home from school. It is for the home health aide, the school custodian, the facilities manager, the curious neighbor who just watched a documentary and has questions.

It is also for healthcare professionals, infection preventionists, nursing students, and allied health trainees who want a clear, organized reference they can reach for quickly.

You do not need a science background to read this. You just need to want a real answer instead of a vague one.

Knowledge is not the same thing as fear. This book is proof of that.