Research uncovers “invisible life” lurking in conventional devices, including E. coli from human feces.
How dirty is YOUR phone? Stomach-boiling study reveals ‘invisible life’ lurking in conventional devices, including E. coli from human LEO.
- 100% of smart devices tested tested positive for E. coli and S. aureus.
- Bacillus cereus and fecal streptococci were among the microbes at all screenings.
- Some germs have been blamed for taking your phone to the toilet with you.
Experts warn that bacteria from human and cockroach feces are among the secret germs that lurk in our phones.
E. coli and fecal streptococci have been found on the screens of 100 percent of smartphones in a study of harmful microbes infecting our devices.
food poisoning agent, Bacillus cereus and S. aureus, which cause pneumonia, were also found in each of 20 swabs taken from 10 phones.
While none contained traces of salmonella, half of them contained P. aeruginosa, which is commonly found in cockroach feces.
Sarah McConomy, COO of SellCell, which conducted the study, said: “We were interested to know how common harmful bacteria is on our mobile phone screens and what types of bacteria are most prevalent.
Taking your phone to the toilet with you has been blamed for some germs being found on the screens.
“The results were really shocking: many forms of bacteria come from human feces, which really highlights the need for people to thoroughly clean and disinfect their mobile phones more often.
“Perhaps most disturbing was the presence of P. aeruginosa, a bacteria that comes directly from cockroaches and their excrement.
“It’s really disturbing to think of cockroaches crawling on our phones and even using them as a toilet when we’re not looking!”
The study tested the phone screens of devices owned by six women and four men aged 22 to 62.
In total, 20 colonies of fecal streptococci and enterococci, which are formed in the stomach and intestines of both humans and animals, were found on the screenings studied.
An additional 20 colonies of S. aureus were also found in the samples, posing a risk of respiratory infections, skin infections, and even food poisoning.
Some germs have been blamed for bringing phones into the bathroom, with researchers claiming you can become infected in as little as five minutes.
Bacteria are released into the air when the toilet is flushed, increasing chance of it falling and landing on your phone.
‘We then carry them with us, to our phone screens, out of the closet and into the rest of our homes, where they may even be responsible for the spread of disease,” SellCell said.
E. coli is among the germs that can be found in the bathroom.
Some germs have been blamed for bringing phones into the bathroom, with researchers claiming you could be exposed in as little as five minutes (file image).
While many variants are completely harmless, the more dangerous species live in fresh feces and can cause diarrhea, vomiting, respiratory infections, and even urinary tract and bloodstream infections.
“Not only is this a nasty image in terms of the bacteria living on our mobile phones, it also shows that many of us can walk around with our own feces on the screens… The screens we then hold up to our faces to make calls are bullshit.” added sellcell.
It turned out to be more than a third of Britons say they never clean their phonewith one in 20 cleaning their phone less than once every six months.
Despite this, SellCell says it’s unlikely that the amount of bacteria found on these screens is enough to cause any real damage.
But it emphasizes that phone owners should continue to clean and disinfect their smartphones with disinfectant wipes, especially after going to the bathroom.