Stress invites infections

Some students repeatedly sacrifice sleep to study from evening to early morning to get a higher grade on a paper or a couple more points on an exam, but according to experts it may invite the invasion of harmful bacteria.

UCLA microbiologists say a high density of stressed and sleep-deprived students living in close quarters creates an ideal environment for bacteria to thrive.

Such conditions generally weaken the immune system, said Dr. Michael Lewinski, director of clinical microbiology and professor of laboratory medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine.

In a college environment, communicable diseases that cause respiratory tract infections can easily spread, he said.

Luz Taborga, a second-year undeclared student, said she tends to get sick when midterms and finals come.

“(Living in the dorms), everybody else is getting sick with you,” said Taborga, who lost her voice and had a sore throat right before her physics midterm.

A common respiratory disease is strep throat, an upper respiratory infection from the streptococcus bacteria. Streptococcus has special characteristics that contribute to its contagiousness.

“It is one of the fastest-growing bacteria there is. … The disease progresses very rapidly, but it has never ever been resistant to antibiotics,” said Dr. David Haake, professor of medicine and infectious disease specialist at the David Geffen School of Medicine.

The strep bacteria are spread by person-to-person contact such as sharing drinks and kissing, he said.

Diagnosis for strep throat is not difficult, said Evi Desser, a nurse practitioner at the Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center.

The fastest way to test for strep throat is the rapid strep test involving the insertion of a swab into a patient’s throat and laboratory testing on the substance on the swab. Patients can retrieve results in about 20 minutes, Desser said.

But she adds that nurses have to be careful in its diagnosis, because strep throat can often be confused with the common cold. A strep patient usually does not cough, unlike a patient with the common cold.

Bacteria could also damage the lower respiratory tract and could cause less common respiratory diseases, such as tuberculosis, Haake said.

When a tuberculosis patient transmits the bacteria through sneezing or coughing, it stays airborne for a few minutes, and this is when people in the same room can get infected, Haake said.

But most people in the United States have a strong enough immune system to prevent the invasion of the tuberculosis bacteria from happening, Haake said.

“Think about how we don’t get sick every day. It’s (because of) our amazing immune system,” Desser said.

Likewise, most people who are exposed to these bacteria are not infectious. Some exposed people might have the infection but not express tuberculosis symptoms, Haake said.

Such a condition is called latent tuberculosis. Latent tuberculosis, Desser said, has a higher chance to activate if the patient has a weak immune system. For example, college-aged students generally have a strong immune system compared to the elderly, she said.

Though harmful bacteria can be frightening, students can still prevent illness. Washing hands and resting sufficiently pose a smaller likelihood for bacteria to attack, Desser said.

“It is important for students to be aware of the common hygiene issues that avoid infection,” she said.

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