One of the greatest challenges for athletic facilities is controlling the spread of infectious diseases through contact with exercise equipment, sports gear, gym mats, artificial turfs, trainer’s tables, whirlpools and locker room benches and floors.
Those infections can run the gamut from flu virus and MRSA to E. coli andC. diff to an array of skin infections which include athlete’s foot, impetigo and wrestler’s herpes. In a recent report on the proliferation of skin diseases among the athletic community and strategies for combating outbreaks, the National Athletic Trainers Association argues that “a clean environment must be maintained in the athletic training facility, locker rooms, and all athletic venues.”