Posted on 10/19/2011 11:21:51 AM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
FRIDAY, Oct. 14 (HealthDay News) -- One in six cellphones in Britain may be contaminated with fecal matter that can spread E. coli, likely because so many people don't wash their hands properly after using the toilet, a new study contends.
The findings also suggest that many people lie about their hygiene habits, according to the researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Queen Mary, University of London.
The study authors went to 12 cities and collected 390 samples from the cellphones and hands of volunteers, who were also asked about their hand-washing habits.
Ninety-five percent of the participants told the researchers that they washed their hands with soap and water where possible. However, lab tests revealed that 92 percent of phones and 82 percent of hands had bacteria on them. The researchers also found that 16 percent of hands and 16 percent of cellphones harbored E. coli bacteria, which is found in feces and can cause serious illness.
The study was released to coincide with Global Handwashing Day on Oct. 15.
(Excerpt) Read more at gma.yahoo.com ...
There are certain places I feel it’s inappropriate to make a call from...
1 in 6? Those phones must belong to the Jihadis in Londinistan.
Anybody want to take a guess on the percentage of door handles with fecal bacteria on them? My guess is close to 100%.
Who will dare to sample the hands of the OWS protesters for fecal bacteria?
Someone needs to inform the Brits that Charmin works better than that Nokia phone.
so when they say their phone is sh*t... they aren’t kidding
Monty Python Hygiene Squad was way ahead of their time.
If true that is a really crappy finding.
“1 in 6? Those phones must belong to the Jihadis in Londinistan.”
Beat me to it. Perhaps they think the phone in their left hand is better than the left hand alone.
Or a corn Cob or newspaper in a pinch. ;-)
This story was written by someone who doesn't understand the issue.
Somewhere around 25% of the billions of bacteria in our intestines are E. coli. Most strains are harmless and indeed essential. The varieties we hear of as killing people are not from human fecal contamination but rather from the gut of herbivores such as cattle or deer that has contaminated food. Human strains will mostly just have no effect.
However, because it is so common in the human intestines and can be easily tested for it is widely used as a tracer organism. IOW, if E. coli is present one can assume others of the many potential pathogens found in fecal material are also present. But the E. coli itself is not the problem.
This story was written by someone who doesn't understand the issue.
Somewhere around 25% of the billions of bacteria in our intestines are E. coli. Most strains are harmless and indeed essential. The varieties we hear of as killing people are not from human fecal contamination but rather from the gut of herbivores such as cattle or deer that has contaminated food. Human strains will mostly just have no effect.
However, because it is so common in the human intestines and can be easily tested for it is widely used as a tracer organism. IOW, if E. coli is present one can assume others of the many potential pathogens found in fecal material are also present. But the E. coli itself is not the problem.
I can not tell a lie.
It was me. I’ve been running around Europe smearing poop on everyones cell phone there I can get my hands on.
Yes I did it and I’m proud of it.
Sorry bout the double post. Don’t know how that happened.
Actually the Jihadis switch hit while on the throne.
Which is why whenever I use a public restroom, when I've finished washing my hands, I use the paper towel I've dried my hands with (if of course, there's no automatic hand dryer) to shut the water off (if it's still running) and even open the entrance door wth it. Can't be too careful. I've seen too many guys doing their business and then sauntering out of the place without washing. In fact if you're a germaphobe, a washroom that has just paper towels is better than an automatic washroom with no paper towels because you can use the paper towels to open the door.
What Dr. Seuss would write if he were alive today: “Horton Hears a Poo”.
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