[access-uk] Keyboards dirtier than a toilet seat?
- From: "Peter Logue" <plsd@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 15:11:56 +0100
Keyboards 'dirtier than a toilet'
Many people eat their lunch at their computers, leaving crumbs
Some computer keyboards harbour more harmful bacteria than a toilet seat,
research has suggested.
Consumer group Which? said tests at its London offices found equipment
carrying bugs that could cause food poisoning.
Out of 33 keyboards swabbed, four were regarded as a potential health hazard
and one harboured five times more germs than one of the office's toilet
seats.
Microbiologist Dr Peter Wilson said a keyboard was often "a reflection of
what is in your nose and in your gut".
During the Which? tests in January this year, a microbiologist deemed one of
the office's keyboards to be so dirty he ordered it to be removed,
quarantined and cleaned.
It had 150 times the recommended limit for bacteria - five times as filthy
as a lavatory seat tested at the same time, the research found.
Should somebody have a cold in your office, or even have gastroenteritis,
you're very likely to pick it up from a keyboard
Dr Peter Wilson
Consultant microbiologist
The equipment was swabbed for bugs, such as those that can cause food
poisoning like E.coli and staphylococcus aureus.
Dr Wilson, a consultant microbiologist at University College London
Hospital, told BBC Radio 5 Live sharing a keyboard could be passing on
illnesses among office workers.
"If you look at what grows on computer keyboards, and hospitals are worse,
believe it or not, it's more or less a reflection of what's in your nose and
in your gut," he said.
"Should somebody have a cold in your office, or even have gastroenteritis,
you're very likely to pick it up from a keyboard."
Which? said one of the causes of dirty keyboards was users eating lunch at
their desk, with crumbs encouraging the growth of bacteria.
Poor personal hygiene, such as not washing hands after going to the toilet,
could also be to blame, it said.
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