Germ Warfare in Public

They found that playgrounds were the most likely places to harbor germs, after finding bodily fluids on 44 per cent of the surfaces. "Really, I’m never going to go on a swing in a children’s playground again," quipped microbiologist Chuck Gerba, a member of the team conducting the study. The second riskiest place was the bus, where rails and armrests can easily harbor bacteria. Next came public restrooms, followed by shopping cart handles and escalator handrails. According to Gerba, germs can survive on such surfaces anywhere from hours to weeks.

This list may not be so surprising if you consider that Americans touch an average of 300 surfaces every 30 minutes, picking up germs along the way and, in many cases, transporting them elsewhere.

Researchers were able to follow the path of contaminants—at least theoretically—by putting an invisible dye on public surfaces in an office such as doorknobs and telephones. They found that the dye spread most frequently to people’s face, hair, desktop surfaces, drinking cups, keyboards and pens. It then went to surfaces in their cars, and from there to their homes, where it could be found on kitchen appliances, faucet handles and remote controls.

How can I stay clean?

It’s hard to avoid going to the playground or taking the bus, but there are precautions you can take to avoid spreading germs. Gerba has some tips about using public restrooms: "Always go to the first stall, it’s the least used. The middle is always the most used," he says. "The other thing is if it looks dirty, don’t go in it—it is bad, microbiologically."

The best advice may be to wash your hands frequently. Although we pride ourselves on our good hygiene, research shows that as many as 50 percent of Americans don’t wash their hands before leaving restrooms. "The best defense in the world is hand-washing, which people get tired of doing," notes Gerba. Washing your hands is important not only after going to the bathroom, but while you’re preparing food, before eating, or when someone in your house is sick. Also, Gerba thinks that alcohol gels that can be used without water are a great innovation because they kill both bacteria and viruses, reducing them by 99.9 per cent.

To minimize the risk of disease transmission, Gerba and his colleagues also recommend routinely disinfecting frequently touched surfaces at home and work—like light switches, faucet handles and doorknobs. It won’t completely eliminate germs, but it will slow them down.