Germs Have Fingerprints?

What is a Bacterial Fingerprint Anyway?

I’ve been reading lately about a recent study done to prove the concept that people can be identified by their own unique bacterial fingerprint. Fascinated, I keep coming back to it.

Did you know that for everything you touch, you leave behind a unique collection of germs? I never really thought about it that hard, but I suppose it makes sense. We leave germs behind, why not leave ones that are our own special blend?

Most of the stories I’ve read so far focus on the forensic and law enforcement angle. Very interesting, I hope they can find a way to make this work. More tools mean fewer dangerous humans on the streets.

We All Share Germs!

And while I can wholly support the forensic interest in this discovery, I wonder how volatile the blend actually is. As a massage therapist, I touch, to state the simple and the obvious. Do I pick up my clients’ germs? Yep! Otherwise, why are we as massage therapists and the medical professions at large educated so stringently on how to properly hand wash before and after contact with clients and patients?

Then even more questions arise such as, if I’m picking up my clients germs as I touch them, am I also integrating their unique blends into my own? Am I transmitting my unique blends to my client as I touch them? If so, is this a good thing? Does this blend help our immune system? Should we be out searching for new and different types of bacteria to add to our “arsenal”?

I don’t know the answers to these questions, but I’m going to be watching to see what happens with this line of research. For now, I’m going to go wash my hands again.

Relevant Articles

People leave unique ‘germ print’
Microbiomes: You Live in Your Own Germ Cloud
Analysis of Microbial Communities: An Emerging Tool in Forensic Sciences

Updated 12/1/23: The original article referenced in this post is gone so I’ve broken the links and added a few relevant articles at the end of the post.

Sharon Bryant at Harvest Moon Massage Therapy
is Decatur’s Ashiatsu Barefoot Massage Therapist!