How not to be part of the problem

Good, timely article in the NYT today about MRSA and antibacterial . . . umm . . . stuff.

MRSA: methicillin-resistant Staph. aureus, which caused, apparently, 19,000 deaths in the last year, 2 recently in healthy high schoolers.

antibacterial stuff: soaps, toys, cutting boards, etc. that have been impregnated with triclosan (an antibiotic) to prevent bacterial growth.

There is no direct epidemiological link between the two, but lab tests seem to indicate that over-use of the latter can lead to the former. (Interesting side note: should we reject a theory for lack of epi back-up, even though it works in the lab? Even when we also reject theories for lack of lab back-up, even when there's a statistical link in epi studies? Are we biased in our trust of the two methods?) Do we over-use the stuff?

If you want to control bacterial growth on stuff, as the article suggests, alcohol-based cleaners work better. If you want to control bacterial growth on your hands, ditto, but soap and water works too. Just in case, lets be sensible.