Lab Safety against Pathogenic Bacteria Considering that there are still a lot of unknown bacteria, it is really important that in lab when handling bacteria extreme precaution is taken towards handling them and to treat them as pathogenic. Today it is an acknowledged fact that anyone in the laboratory whether they are researchers, scientist, or students must follow all guidelines and safety rules for their safety. Every laboratory has its own lab safety equipment and guidelines such as dress code, goggles, gloves etc. Now it is crucial that a laboratory is well-maintained and treated with the proper care to avoid all dangers that can happen while working in lab. That is why there are safety checks and duties for everyone to follow while in lab especially when it comes seeing all bacteria as pathogenic. Bacteria should all be treated as pathogenic because not everything needed to know about bacteria is known, and whether they are pathogenic or not is known by students in the lab. Bacteria can harm the human body in a severe way by causing major diseases, such as tuberculosis, plague, syphilis, and cholera (Human). Even though bacteria dealt with in the laboratory may not cause any of these diseases, the possibility is still there and that is why there are safety precautions in place to prevent these from occurring. The threat of these potential diseases shows why handling bacteria properly is important.
Lab safety is the most important thing a student can learn to protect one’s self from pathogenic bacteria. A very important lab safety guideline is putting on gloves when told to or never directly touching bacteria. Another key lab safety procedure is to wipe down all used materials that come in contact with the growing or grown bacteria in the lab. With the lab materials being washed down before and after use in the lab it can assure that all bacteria coming