That wipe you use to kill microbes on your kitchen counter might be feeding them instead.

A 2024 study out of the City University of Hong Kong suggests the functional abilities of some microbes that exist in built environments — like office buildings, homes, public transport and urban areas — allow them to digest the disinfectants designed to get rid of them.

“Areas with many buildings are low in the traditional nutrients and essential resources microbes need for survival, so these built environments have a unique microbiome,” says Xinzhao Tong of Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University and lead author of the study.

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The study, conducted on samples collected from surfaces across Hong Kong and from the skin of human inhabitants, revealed some interesting facts.

For example, the bacteria Candidatus Xenobia, which is often found in diverse environments like land-based ecosystems and indoor areas, is adaptable to a variety of conditions.

The team found this strain on human palms and indoor surfaces, suggesting its survivability differs from many other microorganisms’.

It can utilize ammonium ions as a nitrogen source; might use alcohols — possibly residuals from cleaning agents — as sources of carbon and energy; and showed potential to metabolize trace gases. This, combined with the residuals from cleaning products, creates a favorable environment for its growth despite low-nutrient conditions.

So where does this leave us when the next pandemic rolls around?

“Microbes possessing enhanced capabilities to utilize limited resources and tolerate manufactured products, such as disinfectants and metals, out-compete non-resistant strains, enhancing their survival and even evolution within built environments. They could, therefore, pose health risks if they are pathogenic,” Tong says.

Earth.com reports that the team is now exploring how pathogenic microbes evolve in hospital intensive-care units. The goals: infection control and safety.