The Germs On Your Cell Phone
News that your cell phone may carry 10 times more bacteria than most toilet seats is disconcerting, although those bugs, including E. coli, Streptococcus and MRSA are unlikely to make you sick. Germs are deposited onto your phone every time you touch it, and at least one survey has found that most people check their phones about 47 times daily. The latest study on this subject demonstrated the presence of more than 17,000 microbes on 27 cell phones belonging to high school students. However, the European researchers concluded that despite their findings, the bugs on cell phones don’t appear to be contributing to the spread of antibacterial resistance, the issue they set out to investigate. Even so, experts commenting on the study noted that phones are most likely to pick up bacterial contaminants when they’re carried into the bathroom – the bugs are spread when toilets are flushed. Cleaning your phone periodically can help remove the germs, as can washing your hands several times a day.
Source:
Silri Koljalg et al, “High level bacterial contamination of secondary school students’ mobile phones.” Germs, June 1, 2017, doi: 10.18683/germs.2017.1111
Also in this week’s bulletin:
