Bacteria fest 

By Tom Arnold

Wonder why you’re catching every flu bug that comes around? In a study funded by The Clorox Co. regarding germs in the workplace, researchers found the bacteria levels in accountants’ offices were nearly seven times higher than the bacteria levels found in lawyers’ offices. The survey states that the desks of accountants are the germiest at 12,600 bacteria per square inch, as are their pens at 2,350 bacteria per square inch. The germiest-jobs ranking: 1. teacher; 2. accountant; 3. banker; 4. radio DJ; 5. doctor.

“Accountants and bankers were a surprise for me,” says the study’s researcher Dr. Charles Gerba, a microbiologist at the University of Arizona. “In hind-sight though, they spend more time at their desks; they are eating and drinking more there, working on the computer all day long. This really makes the difference.” According to Gerba, the Canuck germ situation is parallel to that of its US counterparts. “Most desks are awful. The office-kitchen combination becomes a bacteria cafeteria. People are slopping their coffee and leaving food around,” says Gerba.

The survey, which examined more than 600 work surfaces in nine professions, found that the desks, telephones, keyboards and computer mice in an accountant’s office were second only to the office spaces of teachers. Accountants had more than double the bacteria of a doctor’s office. While there are workplace safety regulations in Canada, there are no general rules about cleanliness at the office. “The more human activity there is, the more likely there is a higher level of contamination,” says Dr. Syed Sattar, director of the Centre for Research on Environmental Micro-biology at the University of Ottawa. And so, while daily disinfectant wiping of desks is helpful, Dr. Sattar says hand hygiene is most important. “Typing away at your computer – you need to wash your hands before picking up your sandwich and start eating it.”