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Going to work sick? Think again.

Flu and cold season is upon us. Unfortunately, not everyone stays home from work when sick causing others to get infected.

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Flu and cold season is upon us. Unfortunately, not everyone stays home from work when sick.

According to research presented at the 54th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC), one sick employee can infect an office building by touching various common surfaces like a doorknob or table top.

In the study, researchers put bacteriophage MS-2 (a substitute for the human norovirus), on a doorknob and table top in office buildings, conference rooms and a health care facility. Throughout the day, researchers sampled various surfaces to check the spread of the virus.

“Within 2 to 4 hours between 40 to 60 percent of the fomites sampled were contaminated with virus,” Charles Gerba of the University of Arizona, Tucson, said at the conference.

Some of the other common objects the virus was found on include light switches, push buttons, coffee pots handles, sink handles, phones and computer equipment.

A common source of infection found was touching surfaces or objects that are contaminated with virus and then putting your fingers in your mouth.

Trying not to get sick this season? Use disinfecting wipes. “Using disinfecting wipes containing quaternary ammonium compounds (QUATS) registered by EPA as effective against viruses like norovirus and flu, along with hand hygiene, reduced virus spread by 80 to 99 percent,” Gerba said.

 
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