USA Today highlighted the latest weapon for parents in the fight to keep their children healthy, Germ Proof Your Kids, a new book by noted pediatrian, Dr. Harley A. Rotbart.

In it's December 10, 2007 edition, the daily newspaper interviewed Dr. Rotbart and quoted extensively from his book.  Dr. Rotbart is Professor and Vice Chairman of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and The Children's Hospital of Denver. 

"If you believe everthing you hear, you'd think the world is a cesspool of germs that threaten the safety of our children," wrote staff reporter Anita Manning.  "Or that our overly sanitized kids should be exposed to viruses and bacteria to strengthen their immune systems.  No wonder parents are confused."

Dr. Rotbart, a father of three teens, advised USA Today readers to adopt "prudent paronoia" -- also known as common sense, Manning reported.  She noted that Dr. Rotbart offers numerous such answers in his book, which was published in November 2007 by the American Society of Microbiology.  The book is available from Amazon.com.

Among Dr. Rotbart's tips: save money on the new crop of antibiotic-impregnated products such as sheets, towels, toilet seats, combs and kitchen counters.  "No one who has reviewed any of these inanimate objects has figured out how the antibiotic ... is going to get out of the aterial to treat the bacteria on the surface of the object," the pediatrician told the newspaper.