Remote Control Bacteria
October 19th, 2005 by Sarah WhiteA recent study by University of Arizona microbiology professor Chuck Gerba made me go “Eeeewwww…” Turns out the biggest carrier of bacteria in the average hospital room is the television remote control.
The study compared the remote to the nurse call button, the toilet flusher, tray tables, hand rails, the door handle and other surfaces commonly found in hospital rooms. The average bacteria load for all surfaces was 91 per item, while the average remote had 320 bacteria specemins, including samples of antibiotic-resistant staphylococcus, which is a common cause of death in hospitals, about 90,000 a year, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The study suggested using disposable remote controls instead of controls that are used over and over by many different patients. In the study, newly opened disposable remotes only had an average of 8.35 bacteria per remote.
Or maybe people could just read books…
Sarah White wrote this on October 19th, 2005 and filed it under Healthy Living, Women's Health, Men's Health, Health & Aging |
