Mobile phones are infested with bad bacteria


By James Sherwood - 29/07/2010 print
iPhone 4iPhone 4
 

Your phone could be harboring enough bugs to give you a stomach upset, tests find.

The average mobile phone is 18 times filthier than a toilet handle, scientific tests have confirmed.

Seven out of 30 mobiles tested by Which? had dangerous levels of “environmental bacteria” which can act as breeding grounds for more harmful bugs.

For example, one phone was found to have enough faecal and salmonella-related bugs on it to potentially give the owner a serious stomach upset.

Martyn Hocking, editor of Which? said: “It’s a worrying thought that people could be putting their health at risk with bacteria-ridden handsets. It’s time to…give those mobiles a good clean.”

Keep yourself safe from filthy phones by:

  1. Habitually cleaning your phone with alcohol wipes
  2. Washing your hands regularly.

Which? tested 15 touchscreen phones and 15 with physical keypads. Both had roughly the same levels of bugs and bacteria on them.


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