HOW CELL PHONES SPREAD DISEASES

The cell phone may have revolutionised communication but it has also revolutionised disease transmission.


You may not agree with this but because cell phones go from pocket or purse to hand and to face, they are uniquely capable of spreading diseases quickly.


The now indispensable gadget that connects us to the rest of the world has been found to be unequalled when it comes to collecting and disseminating germs, bacteria and viruses.


Germ studies conducted by Dr. Charles Gerba, a professor of environmental biology at the University of Arizona, United States, found that cell phones are among the dirtiest surfaces we touch everyday. Others are, desktop surfaces, keyboards, mice, fax machines, copy machines, and toilet seats. And they all contain germs that can make us sick.


Mike Elgan in the article, Your cell phone is dirtier than a toilet. Here‘s help!,‘ published on www. blogs.computerworld.com, explained why cell phones are germ breeders. According to him, ”Cell phones are constantly coming into contact with both hands and mouth. When they‘re not, they tend to be tucked away in pockets, a nice, warm environment that promotes the growth of microorganisms.”


In his 2006 study, samples were collected from private offices and cubicles in office buildings located in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oregon and New York City. A total of 113 surfaces were tested and analysed at the University of Arizona laboratories.


The germ count found that cell phones contained 25,127 germs per square inch compared to 20,961 germs per square inch found on desktop surface and 3,295 germs per square inch found on keyboard and 1,676 on mouse and the 49 germs per square inch on toilet seat.


Gerba, who is referred to as ‘Dr. Germ’ in his television appearances, revealed on CBS Morning Show in November, 2009 that he once tested 25 mobile phones and found the staph bacteria growing on almost half of them. The staph bug can cause skin infections and meningitis, among other maladies.


When he appeared on Good Morning America in 2006, he tested a soundman‘s phone and determined there were 10-50 million bacteria on his phone (he described it as “the dirtiest phone I had ever tested.”)


According to the online healthcare magazine, www. selffundingmagazine.com, during his more recent visit to CBS, Gerba proved that there were 261 bacteria on the surface of correspondent Kelly Wallace‘s cell phone.


Gerba said, however, that flip phones have more germs because they don‘t dry out as well as other phones, thus leading to moisture which tends to attract and hold more germs.


When concerns about cell phones and bacteria surfaced a few years ago in the United Kingdom, Dr. Emily Senay, a medical correspondent for CBS News’ The Early Show, advised “the first thing we should do all the time, whenever we’ve gone to the bathroom or cooked in our kitchen or shaken hands with somebody, is wash our hands. Washing your hands is a great way to reduce all sorts of infections.”


Speaking on the issue, spokesman for Public Health Dayton and Montgomery County, US, Mr. Bill Wharton, was quoted by the Dayton Daily News as explaining, “During the course of the day, you touch countless surfaces that are contaminated. What you touch isn‘t nearly as important as whether you wash your hands.”


He said that 15-20 seconds of lathering a couple times per day, especially before meals, was the best way to keep the germs from your cell phone and everything else you touch from getting into your system and making you sick.


Elgan, however, said there are several things you can do to protect yourself and others from your own cell phone. Apart from advocating hand washing, he said the easiest thing to do is to frequently clean your phone with rubbing alcohol.


But Wharton insisted that nothing can be better than hand washing-not even hand sanitisers


“Those are meant as an option when you don’t have access to soap and water,” he said.


Dr. Tony Aluka, a consultant family physician, however, observed that everything boiled down to improving our personal hygiene, even as he agreed that regular washing of hands with soap and water could prevent infections.


He said, “Hand-washing is a very effective method of infection control. People should learn to form the habit of washing their hands at intervals because everyday we touch many things that harbour bacteria.


Some companies have also introduced wands designed for sterilising handsets. But experts also advise that you can also use a Bluetooth headset most of the time, to minimise the mouth and hand contact with the phone.