Keyboards, phones ‘dirtier than toilets’

Keyboards, computer mice and telephone dials are more infested with microbes than toilet seats, according to United States researchers.

Keyboards, computer mice and telephone dials are more infested with microbes than toilet seats, according to United States researchers.The University of Arizona study recommends that office workstations be regularly disinfected since they can on average contain 400 times as many germs as a toilet seat.The study by Charles Gerba, a University of Arizona microbiologist, found that telephones harboured up to 3,894 germs per square centimetre, keyboards 511 and computer mice 260.The average office contains 3,249 germs per square centimetre.”Desks are really bacteria cafeterias,” he said.”They are breakfast bars, lunch tables and everything else, as we spend more hours at the office.”When someone is infected with a cold or flu bug, the surfaces they touch during the day become germ transfer points because some cold and flu viruses can survive on surfaces for up to 72 hours – an office can become an incubator.”US health officials last month warned about the dissemination of germs during the flu season.Officials reminded Americans to cover their nose and mouth while sneezing, wash their hands regularly and use disinfectant swabs to clean their office desks.(Source: AFP, ABC Health News, March 2004)