Plenty of places for germs to breed on British ATM keypads

Although it is well known, a new study has confirmed that public venues are a breeding ground for bacteria and germs. Bathrooms are as full of bacteria obviously, but ATM keypads are almost as bad. The research was, not astonishingly, financed by antibacterial makers. This doesn’t mean that others are worried about this, however. Just think of the payday cash loan the bank will have to take out if someone sued them for getting sick at the ATM.

Study all about the ATM keypad done in Britain

The bacteria on many common public surfaces were studied by British researchers. Swabs were used to get samples to grow. These came from grocery carts, gas pump handles, under the seat of public toilets and ATM keypads. The samples were grown in a petri dish after getting sealed in a sterile bag. Bacteria including e. coli and coliform were grown on all four swabs. The highest bacteria load was grown from the public toiled even though the same amount of bacteria was taken with all samples. ATM keypads were a very close second to the public toilets in bacterial load.

Taking into consideration the funding of the study

The study of ATM keypads and public toilets did not reveal any particularly new information. We should check who the study was funded by though. It was an antibacterial surface coating company. Where funding for studies come from is a consistent issue within the scientific community. Though the use of this study to sell antibacterial products is relatively transparent, it does not completely invalidate the results.

Don't get too much bacteria on you

Though this study is being argued as a reason to buy more antibacterial surface coatings, there are other ways to protect yourself. Make sure that you wash your hands. It is an extremely important thing to do. The infections and disease being spread isn't effected much by antibacterial products as it has been shown. Keep your hands washed, use antibacterial products rarely, and take reasonable precautions to protect yourself. This way ATM keypads and public toilets will not be any more dangerous than any other public space.

Articles cited

NCBI

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14996673

WTAE

wtae.com/health/24325339/detail.html