(Image Source: Houston Chronicle)
BY KERRY LEARY
ANCHOR EMILY SPAIN
You're watching multiperspective news analysis from Newsy.
Cell phones are the newest E.Coli hoarders according to a new study- and unfortunately, there isn’t an app to fix that. HLN has more.
“About 1 in 6 cell phones in Britain have E-Coli bacteria on them. That’s from researchers from the University of London... oooh.”
Ew. That means 16 percent of the 390 phones in 12 British cities surveyed have the bacteria on them, according to The Huffington Post UK. So, how does the E-Coli bacteria come in contact with cell phones? Here’s WJZ.
“It means unfortunately that people are going to the toilet, their hands are getting contaminated, and they’re not washing their hands with soap.”
After not washing their hands with soap, people are on their cell phones texting, tweeting, emailing- before they even leave the stall. KGO reports phones may be the perfect haven for breeding bacteria.
“It turns out bacteria love mobile phones-they get all the warmth they need when the phone is in use and they thrive on the saliva found on the receiver.”
A British blog, “Made for Mums” isn’t worried about how the poo gets on the phone- but warns parents to keep their phones clean for another reason.
“It's particularly important for mums and dads with young children, as the bacteria can cause upset stomachs and is even more dangerous for little ones. And with babies and toddlers increasingly playing with ‘todder apps’ and phones put into safe mode, parents should be wary about how clean their mobiles are.”
But a Houston Chronicle blog notes the study doesn’t touch on the issue of multitasking- texting while sitting on the toilet.
“By some estimates more than half of Americans use the phone in the loo. (Brad Pitt suggests texting, rather than talking while urinating). And up to 1 in 5 Americans have dropped their phone in the toilet.”
The study coincides with an international movement on October 15- Global Handwashing day. So, go wash those hands and don’t use your phone in the bathroom.
Transcript by Newsy.
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