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Your office could be making you sick

Eliza Mills Dec 2, 2016
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Most of the buildings we work in are completely sealed off from the outside world, in part to help save on heating and cooling costs. But this can also mean that when someone gets sick, the germs just circulate through the ventilation system. MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images

Your office could be making you sick

Eliza Mills Dec 2, 2016
Most of the buildings we work in are completely sealed off from the outside world, in part to help save on heating and cooling costs. But this can also mean that when someone gets sick, the germs just circulate through the ventilation system. MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images
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In offices across the country, someone is probably sneezing, spreading a cold that’s been going around. It sometimes seems like when one person at work gets sick, it’s only a matter of time before everyone does.

One potential reason why is the office itself. Most of the buildings we work in are completely sealed off from the outside world, in part to help save on heating and cooling costs.

But this can also mean that when someone gets sick, the germs just circulate through the ventilation system. 

Marketplace Weekend spoke to Zoe Schlanger, science contributor at Wired, where she recently wrote a piece on the topic of office microbiomes. 

To listen to the full interview, tune in using the audio player above. 

 

 

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