Invisible Life Hiding on Smartphone Screens, Study Reveals
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VIVA – Bacteria from both humans and cockroaches are among the secret germs hiding on smartphone, the experts warn. It is known, E.Coli and fecal strep were found on 100 percent of smartphone screens in a study of the harmful microbes that plague our devices.
Food poisoning germ, Bacillus cereus, and pneumonia-causing S. aureus were also found on each of 20 swabs from 10 phones. While none of them showed traces of salmonella, half did contain P. aeruginosa, a substance commonly found in cockroach feces.
“We were interested in finding out how often harmful bacteria appear on our smartphone screens and which types of bacteria are most common,” said SellCell COO Sarah McConomy, who led the study.
The results were really shocking, with many forms of bacteria coming from human feces really showing that people need to deep clean and sanitize their smartphones more often.
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“Perhaps the most disturbing thing to see was the presence of P. aeruginosa, a bacterium that comes directly from cockroaches and their poop. It’s really disturbing to think of cockroaches crawling all over our phones and even using them as a bathroom when we’re not looking!” McConomy explained.
The study tested the phone screens of devices owned by six women and four men between the ages of 22 and 62. A total of 20 fecal streptococcal and enterococcal colonies were found on the screens tested, which form in the stomach and intestines of both humans and animals.
An additional 20 colonies of S. aureus were also found in samples, posing the risk of respiratory infections, skin infections, and even food poisoning.
Taking phones to the bathroom has been blamed for some germs, with researchers claiming you can be exposed in as little as five minutes. Bacteria become airborne when flushing the toilet and increase the chances of it falling and landing on your phone.
‘We then carry them with us, on our phone screens, out of the toilet and into the rest of our house, where they may even be responsible for spreading disease,” McConomy said.
E.Coli is one of the germs that can be found in the bathroom. Previous research has also shown that smartphones can be covered in up to 10 times more bacteria than a toilet seat.
This comes as more than a third of people in the UK admit to never cleaning their smartphone, with one in 20 cleaning their phone less than once every six months.
