Lab environment isn't the same as in the world. There can be many factors that contribute to the inactivation of microbes: from the antimicrobial properties of some materials to the UV radiation of sunlight there's a huge difference in survivability when compared to a sterile and controlled environment like a lab.

Moreover, in many languages masculine pronouns are the neutral/undefined gender by rule so it's also possible they are not an English native speaker and used their own grammar rules.