DOORKNOBS AND COLDS - WASH YOUR HANDS!

Doorknobs, TV Remotes Spread Colds
10/29/2008
A new study finds that cold sufferers often leave their germs on the refrigerator door handle and the TV remote, where they can live for two days or longer.
Scientists at the University of Virginia tested surfaces in the homes of people with colds and reported the results Tuesday in Washington at a joint meeting of the American Society for Microbiology and the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
Doctors don't know how often people catch colds from touching germy surfaces as opposed to, say, shaking a sick person's hand, said Birgit Winther, an ear, nose and throat specialist who helped conduct the study. Two years ago, she and other doctors showed that germs survived in hotel rooms a day after guests left, waiting to be picked up by the next guest.
For the new study, researchers started with 30 adults showing early cold symptoms. Sixteen tested positive for rhinovirus, which causes about half of all colds. They were asked to name 10 places in their homes they had touched in the preceding 18 hours, and researchers used DNA tests to hunt for rhinovirus.
"We found that commonly touched areas like refrigerator doors and handles were positive about 40% of the time" for cold germs, Dr. Winther said.
All three of the salt and pepper shakers they tested were contaminated. Other spots found to harbor the germ: 6 out of 18 doorknobs; 8 of 14 refrigerator handles; 3 of 13 light switches; 6 of 10 remote controls; 8 of 10 bathroom faucets; 4 of 7 phones; and 3 of 4 dishwasher handles.The study was sponsored by Reckitt-Benckiser Inc., makers of Lysol, but no products were tested in the research.
article from online Wall Street Journal
http://sec.online.wsj.com/article/SB122524376793078701.html