Germ warfare at your desk

Cape Town - October 15 was Global Handwashing Day, held to celebrate and promote the importance of handwashing as an effective and affordable way to avoid illness and the spread of germs.

According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 80 percent of infections are spread by hand contact, with most of it taking place in the office through contaminated surfaces and direct contact.

On average, we touch 30 objects a minute in the workspace and continually bring our fingers to our noses, mouths and eyes about 16 times an hour. Keeping your distance from sick co-workers and continually washing your hands may be the answer, but they are not enough to avoid contact with germs.

A new study from the University of Arizona shows that viruses quickly spread through offices, contaminating many surfaces in just hours. Telephones, mouses, keyboards are all threats. But where exactly do most of these germs hide and what should employees be wary of? Your desk is the biggest workplace violator – not surprising since only 64 percent of people clean their desks once a month. Lift buttons have regular finger traffic and in some buildings this may number thousands daily.

Water fountains (the old types which people drink directly from), have more than 1 million bacteria a square centimetre. Telephones are also high risk, with untold numbers of hands and mouths using them.

Computer keyboards and mouses are prime real estate for germs, especially the food poisoning bugs such as ecoli, coliforms, staphylococcus aureus and enterobacteria. Coffee stations, particularly coffee pot handles, are also high risk and ideal surfaces for viruses to spread quickly. “Research by Clorox Bleach found that office toilets have 49 germs compared to a desktop’s 21 000 germs.

“Coughing and sneezing leave germs that can live up to three days – spreading even further and faster in the workplace,” says Joy Turnbull, of AngelShack, local manufacturers of award-winning workstations. She says that workplace furniture should be coated with anti-bacterial coatings to inhibit the growth of workplace germs, bacteria and viruses. “The South African market is unaware of this and it is something we strongly promote and use on our furniture range. What’s also important is that the coating is wash resistant.”

“The hand is quicker than the sneeze,” says the University of Arizona. “Just one door contaminated with a virus spreads the germ to half the desk surfaces and hands of half the employees in the office within four hours.“

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