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What's the first thing you do when you get to a hotel room? Turn on the light, kick off your shoes and turn on the tube? If so, congratulations: you've likely just made a quick tour of the places in the room that harbor the most bacteria.
Sure, there are a lot of bacteria in the bathroom. But that’s not the hottest spot for bugs. Some of the highest concentrations of microbes were on the light switch, the carpet and the television remote. The findings were presented at the American Society for Microbiology's 2012 general meeting. [Katie Kirsch et al., "A Microbial Analysis of Environmental Surfaces in Hotel Rooms"]
The researchers sampled 19 surfaces from nine hotel rooms in three different states. They found that 81 percent of those surfaces had at least some fecal bacteria on them. But, of course, not all of these bugs are going to make you sick. The study was in part to help inform cleaning protocols.
Some hotel chains are already pledging to keep their properties a little more germ-free. So your next stay might be a little cleaner. Just don't investigate CSI-style with a black light. You’ll never be able to sleep.
—Katherine Harmon
[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]
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10 Comments
Add CommentToo much focus on this. That's why we have an immune system. When you live in a world that is too sterile,you end up with all kinds of immune system and inflammation syndromes and diseases.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYou know if some one cares about these things a lot,he or she can't use his or her time,life.So,they are always nervous about the microbes and bacterias and he or she won't prevent of getting sick.Can you always wear gloves and cover your mouth with some thing,If you are stuff like that person?Is it possible and easy to do that?What do you think?Am I right?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI'm agree with U mohammad777!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisall of us know that it's necessary to observe hygiene but also I think becoming nervous about all of those microbes is a sign of obsession!
Hi
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAs you know the hotels are the places that different people go there everyday, so maybe it is possible to be bacteria on some places, Have you ever go to this hotels? for example if you are scrupulous person its very hard to withstand this problems, when you touch a place, rapidly you want to wash your hands and do this work again and again, but you have to know all of this things don not make illness for your body, but you must to be careful!!! and there is an other way, if you have a bad fell, you can not go to the hotels at all, do you agree with me???
May be, it can be right but you know I think that all of us in our home have worse bacteria than these like the keyboard of the computer that you type with it, is one of the dirtiest things that we touch so we can't always wash our hands and, in the other hand you said that every day different people go there but if you think, you can understand that they observe hygiene too because they have to do it.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMay be, it can be right, I think that all of us in our home have worse bacteria than that. For example, the keyboard of the computer that use, is one of the dirtiest things that we touch. So, we can't always wash our hands, in the other words, as you said that different people go there every day, you can understand that they observe hygiene too because they have to do it.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisTHE EDITED EDITION
your comment was good...specialy the edited edition
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisso there,s nothing else to add.
your comment was good exept some gromatical wrongs in your comment...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisby the way thanks for your ideas.
Hi students ic8.I think the hotel is the place that every one go there,so it has many bacteria in the bathrooms and also its cause of diseases.so if you want to go there you must keep youre self on.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHi
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI think in the hotel there are olot of bacteria in the bathroom but that is not the hottest spot for bugs.some of the highest concentrations of microbes were on the lights switch,the carpet and the t.v remote.As you know you should keep youre self on all the time but its not cause of that you should cares about these things alot,because it makes you nervous.