Study Finds Bacterial Contamination Common in the Workplace
By Matt McMillen
WebMD Health News
Reviewed by Michael W. Smith, MD
May 30, 2012 -- If you're reading this at work, brace yourself. A new study shows that typical offices have hundreds of types bacteria in them, and men's offices have the most.
Researchers report finding more than 500 different types of bacteria on common surfaces in offices in three major U.S. cities. And, perhaps less surprisingly to some people, they found that men's offices are more contaminated than women's.
"Humans are spending an increasing amount of time indoors, yet we know little about the diversity of bacteria and viruses where we live, work, and play," says lead researcher Scott Kelley, PhD.
The San Diego State University biologist and his team swabbed five common office surfaces -- chairs, phones, desks, computer mice, and keyboards -- in 90 different offices, 30 each in San Francisco, New York, and Tucson.
The research team, which was partially funded by the Clorox Corporation, found bacteria on nearly every surface they tested. Most of it came from the office workers themselves. Coughing and sneezing accounted for a good deal of the bacteria, as did shedding from the skin. However, a substantial amount came from deeper inside the body.
"We also found a surprising number of bacterial genera associated with the human digestive tract," the researchers write in the study, which appears today in the online journal PLoS ONE.
If all this sounds rather alarming -- or simply gross -- the researchers point out that there is likely little cause for concern for the vast majority of people who spend eight hours a day in an office: "
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