The BBC reports on a study by scientists (from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) that surveyed commuters for hand hygiene.
Dr Val Curtis, director of the Hygiene Centre at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: "We were flabbergasted by the finding that so many people had faecal bugs on their hands.
People who had used the bus had higher rates of hand contamination than those who had used the train.
The bacteria found suggested people were not washing their hands properly after using the toilet, said the researchers. Experts stressed the importance of hand hygiene for preventing illness. Professor Catchpole said: "Norovirus is highly infectious and easily spread in settings where people are in close contact with one another so good hygiene, including frequent hand washing, is really important."
Findings at a glance;
* In the three big cities - London, Cardiff and Birmingham - the women's hands were dirtier.
[Euston (London) - men 6%, women 21%]
* Manual workers had cleaner hands than other professionals, students, retired people
or the unemployed.
* People who had used the bus had higher rates of hand contamination than those
who had used the train.
* The further north they went, the more often they found commuters with faecal bacteria
on their hands - men in Newcastle were the worst offenders.
Another reason to enjoy using bus route 29.
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