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Monday, April 11, 2005

Typers beware

Recent studies in hospitals across America have shown that there hads been an increase of infections in people due to germs collected from computer keyboards. In fact, samples from the hospitals own computers have shown and increase in harmful bacteria. Scientists say that this is due to the fact that antibiotics are given out too much these days and that bacteria normally killed by the medicin has evolved. Computer keyboards are a prime place to come into contact with germs such as vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. To give a general idea and to watch out for, Enterococcus faecium can cause complicated abdominal infections, skin infections, urinary tract infections and infections of the blood stream while pseudomonas aeruginosa is a frequent cause of pneumonia, urinary tract infections and bloodstream infections. The study, presented at a meeting of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, found that just touching a keyboard was enough to transmit the bacteria. Well, I should probabbly go wash my hands now. Where's the soap!?
http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/04/11/keyboards.bacteria.reut/index.html

1 Comments:

  • Being afraid to touch a keyboard on the merit that you may contract a disease is just as someone being afraid to touch a doorknob or even not using silverware at a restaurant.

    Indeed there is enough scientific evidence to show you can contract nasty ailments, however if you wash your hands and do not put your fingers in your mouth before doing so, we should all be fine. It is disgusting to think that the keyboard I am using in the computer lab right now might be ‘infected’, however, I think I’ll survive.

    Scientists should use money and time better to combat diseases such as cancer or AIDS and not to see how many germs are on keyboards.

    By Blogger bruckone, at 10:14 AM  

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