Your iPhones and BlackBerrys may need some sort of viral “pesticide” because they may be harboring “more germs than a toilet in a subway bathroom,” a new study published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology finds. Personal touch-screen devices like iPhones, iPads, Droids and BlackBerrys are good at spreading viruses, and “if you put virus on a surface, like an iPhone, about 30 percent of it will get on your fingertips,” explains Timothy Julian, a Stanford University doctoral student and co-author of the study.
ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross’s response: “So what? Is there actually any study that has shown the relationship between microbial load on personal devices and communicable disease? I suspect the answer is no.” Dr. Ross goes on to note that this story is no different from the others that warn people that kitchen counters carry more germs than toilet seats, and wisely advises all of us to avoid licking the kitchen counter.
“Or just prepare your carrots in the toilet,” jokes ACSH's Dr. Josh Bloom.
