Whats In a Touch?
“Whether germs are viral, bacterial, or fungal, some can remain active on most surfaces for several days — no matter whether the surface is stainless steel, wood, plastic, or even the paper in a magazine,” says Elaine Jong, MD, co-director of the University of Washington Travel Clinic in Seattle. “When you touch that surface, it’s transmitted to your hands. Then if you touch your eyes or rub their nose or lips, when you eat or in any way get your fingers in contact with a mucous surface, voila … you have infected yourself.” The best way to prevent problems, of course, is to never touch these “problem” surfaces. But that’s not so easy. “The funny thing is, what many people consider to be the germiest surfaces may not be so bad, while some of the most germ-ridden areas are not what most people expect,” says University of Arizona microbiologist Charles Gerba, PhD, a leading researcher better known in the science world as “Dr. Germ.
