Oh Poo!

[Sangye]

LOL--Nice one Doug, that brings us back to the thread topic....

[Doug]

Gad! I'm never on topic!

[Jack]

There was an article in a TV program yesterday where they took swabs during a trip around London. They sampled trains, buses, taxis etc and then grew the cultures. Much to their disappointment they found almost nothing! Worst contamination was from the bus seats which grew a lot of penicillin!

[Sangye]

In several Biology courses, we were given swabs and petri dishes and told to take samples from public places. The instructors said in every class, every semester there's always at least one sample that grows MRSA or something equally horrible.

[Doug]

A study done here showed that the worst place to pick up feces contamination and other nasties was a worker's desk. The main cause was eating at the desk, whether a lunch or snacks and, of course, not washing one's hands after using the toilet. Telephone headsets were nasty, too, because of saliva splattered on them. When I worked, I wiped desk and telephone surfaces down regularly with an antibacterial wipe. Computer keyboards, too, were found to be nasty.

[andrew]

Computer keyboards, too, were found to be nasty.

Yuppers they are one of the worst places - my keyboard included!!

The person at the desk next to me at work brought her kid in with her today. Kid was sick, coughing and sneezing etc. To her credit, she was sneezing and coughing into her tissues but geezzz....spent as little time at my desk as possible today!

[Sangye]

I think we should call Ziploc and ask them to make an Andrew-size bag. What the heck was that mom thinking? Maybe she was Typhoid Mary in her last life?

[Doug]

The people where I worked- my office mates at least- were very aware of my vulnerability, and made efforts to spare me the sharing, much appreciated as all of them were exposed to kids in pre-school and young grades, making them prime carriers. I acknowledged their efforts but still wiped things down and used tissues or towels, whatever was handy, between me and surfaces we all touched. It worked pretty well as I didn't come down with respiratory infections or other infections associated with contaminated surfaces. They, on the other hand, had a typical amount of whatever was goingf around.