Germs don't check out of hotel rooms
Researchers from the University of Houston found potentially harmful bacteria on several common items and surfaces in hotel rooms. Credit: AP
Spending time at a hotel this summer? Don't forget to pack enough socks and underwear. And plenty of hand sanitizer.
Researchers from the University of Houston found potentially harmful bacteria on several common items and surfaces in hotel rooms.
Among the most contaminated were TV remotes and the bedside lamp switch. Conversely, the bed headboard, curtain rods and the handle on the bathroom door had the lowest contamination levels, probably because a typical housekeeping staff concentrates on those items. The research has implications for people 50 and older, who are more prone to suffer severe effects from bacterial infections.
Researchers noted that the study sample was very small and their findings, which were presented last month at the American Society for Microbiology conference in San Francisco, are preliminary.
