Navigation Links
Contamination of UK mobile phones and hands revealed
Date:10/13/2011

One in six mobile phones in Britain is contaminated with faecal matter, according to new research released ahead of Global Handwashing Day.

Experts say the most likely reason for the potentially harmful bacteria festering on so many gadgets is people failing to wash their hands properly with soap after going to the toilet.

The findings of the UK-wide study by scientists from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Queen Mary, University of London also reveal a tendency among Britons to lie about their hygiene habits.

Although 95% of people said they washed their hands with soap where possible, 92% of phones and 82% of hands had bacteria on them. Worryingly, 16% of hands and 16% of phones were found to harbour E. coli bacteria of a faecal origin. Harmful E. coli (Escherichia coli) is associated with stomach upsets and has been implicated in serious cases of food poisoning such as the fatal O157 outbreak in Germany in June.

Hygiene expert and UK campaign leader for Global Handwashing Day Dr Val Curtis, from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: "This study provides more evidence that some people still don't wash their hands properly, especially after going to the toilet. I hope the thought of having E. coli on their hands and phones encourages them to take more care in the bathroom washing your hands with soap is such a simple thing to do but there is no doubt it saves lives."

Peter Barratt, Technical Manager at Initial Washroom Solutions, which supports Global Handwashing Day, said: "Today's research is shocking and demonstrates the importance of effective hygiene. It is critical that people take hand hygiene seriously and that businesses offer their employees and customers a practical way of protecting themselves to help combat the spread of illness."

Researchers travelled to 12 cities and took 390 samples from mobile phones and hands whi
'/>"/>

Contact: Paula Fentiman
paula.fentiman@lshtm.ac.uk
44-020-792-72802
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Source:Eurekalert

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2 3

Related biology news :

1. Study provides new way to classify E. coli bacteria and test for fecal contamination
2. Green sludge can protect groundwater from radioactive contamination
3. Environmental pharmaceutical contamination removed by Octolig
4. Does pasture irrigation increase groundwater contamination?
5. EPA hosts decontamination research and development conference
6. Plants in mining areas can cure soil affected by contamination in very short time
7. Road salt and cars produce extreme water contamination in Frenchmans Bay, UTSC research reveals
8. UCLA engineers develop faster method to detect bacterial contamination in coastal waters
9. UH team analyzes Hurricane Ikes effects on waterways, fish contamination
10. Scientific evidence of health problems from past contamination of drinking water at Camp Lejeune is limited and unlikely to be resolved with further study
11. Soil and sediment contamination assessment more accurate
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
(Date:5/23/2013)... medics have succeeded in treating cerebral palsy with autologous ... damage, a 2.5 year old boy had been in ... survival. Just two months after treatment with the cord ... the following months, the child learned to speak simple ... from a Korean study, dispel the long-held doubts about ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... Frontiers, one of the world,s largest and fastest ... new journal, Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology ... all specialties, Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology ... diverse and emerging bioengineering and biotechnology research to ... in Bioengineering and Biotechnology will provide an ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... In an age when microbial pathogens are growing ... down infection, a team of Wisconsin scientists has synthesized ... the bacteria that cause staph infections. , Writing online ... , a group led by University of Wisconsin-Madison chemistry ... the "quorum sensing" behavior of Staphylococcus aureus , ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):First successful treatment of pediatric cerebral palsy with autologous cord blood 2Frontiers launches new open-access journal in Bioengineering and Biotechnology 2University of Wisconsin chemists find new compounds to curb staph infection 2
... It is estimated that 38 million people worldwide are ... are added each year. For scientists to design treatment ... essential to learn more about how the virus mutates ... by University of Victoria biomedical engineer Stephanie Willerth has ...
... III efficacy data from the GeparQuinto study, a head-to-head ... chemotherapy for patients with early breast cancer, at the ... Dec. 8-12. "We had a primary goal ... trastuzumab, with the new combination of chemotherapy and lapatinib," ...
... Alexandria, VA America has made great strides in recent ... to other, low or non-carbon energy sources. Meanwhile, carbon emissions ... looks at this disparity and asks the difficult questions about ... is imported from "cleaner" countries and the emissions are produced ...
Cached Biology News:UVic biomedical engineer 'outsmarts' HIV 2Phase III study compared neoadjuvant therapy with lapatinib or trastuzumab for early breast cancer 2
(Date:5/23/2013)... , May 23, 2013  Verenium Corporation (Nasdaq: ... focused on the development and commercialization of high-performance enzymes, ... Chief Financial Officer, will present at two upcoming conferences. ... Black will present at the Second Annual Marcum LLP ... Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City.  The presentation ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... 2013 Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, ... and contract research company focused on research and ... today a publication reporting the induction of functional ... and immunotherapeutic vaccinia JX-594 (pexastimogene devacirepvec; Jennerex Inc.). ... the May 15 th , 2013 issue of ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... Washington, DC (PRWEB) May 23, 2013 ... of genetics-based ancestry tracing for people of African ... myDNAmix Admixture product offering. For people of all ... genetic make-up from five distinct populations: Indigenous Americas ... Europe and India Subcontinent. , Originally ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... PA (PRWEB) May 23, 2013 Bed ... that the university had already confirmed it. Meanwhile, My Cleaning ... help bed bug victims fight the pests without using harmful ... posted on May 15, 2013, the affected building was actually ... it being infested was said made on May 13 and ...
Breaking Biology Technology:Verenium To Present At Two Upcoming Conferences 2Verenium To Present At Two Upcoming Conferences 3Pusan National University Announces Science Translational Medicine Publication Highlighting Landmark Demonstration of Functional Anti-Cancer Antibody Induction in Patients Following JX-594 Treatment 2Pusan National University Announces Science Translational Medicine Publication Highlighting Landmark Demonstration of Functional Anti-Cancer Antibody Induction in Patients Following JX-594 Treatment 3AfricanAncestry.com Rolls Out Improved MyDNAMix Admixture Test for People of all Races; Enhancements Increase Accuracy in Estimation of Ancestral Makeup 2AfricanAncestry.com Rolls Out Improved MyDNAMix Admixture Test for People of all Races; Enhancements Increase Accuracy in Estimation of Ancestral Makeup 3Penn State Dorm Infested with Bed Bugs, My Cleaning Products Offers Complimentary Sample of Bed Bug Spray to Help Bed Bug Victims 2
... somehow survived where other traditional marketing tools and old ... must face harsher realities once again, all to ensure ... Web sites are simply doomed. While billions of Web ... clash into the billions of surfing customers and simply ...
... Ted Kanavas, R-Brookfield, called on the Legislature and the ... Development Fund. , ,The fund would use existing information ... Administration and segregate a portion of the funds for ... would not flow into this fund. , ,This fund ...
... Corporation and First Data Corporation jointly ... provides for the purchase of substantially all of the ... approximately $610 million in cash. As the majority shareholder ... million and NYCE will become a Metavante subsidiary. , ...
Cached Biology Technology:The mysteries and the future of Web sites 2The mysteries and the future of Web sites 3The mysteries and the future of Web sites 4Metavante and First Data to buy PIN-debit company NYCE 2
... system for detection of very low level ... Equipped with an extreme sensitive camera to ... plants in tumor research, infectious disease research, ... NightOWL is the only imager with a ...
... (Complex Object Parametric Analyzer and Sorter) large ... the advantages of flow cytometry to applications ... for automated analysis and sorting. Our ... as traditional flow cytometers, but are designed ...
Mouse monoclonal antibody raised against a full length recombinant LDB3. NCBI Entrez Gene ID = LDB3...
...
Biology Products: