How Dirty is Your Keyboard: Dirtier Than a Toilet Seat? Read On!

It turns out that your computer keyboard could put a host of potentially harmful bacteria -- including E. coli and staphylococcus aureus. -- quite literally at your fingertips. Sure, it may sound like a lazy persons excuse to stay away from activities that demands interaction. But a growing body of research suggests that computer mice and keyboards are, in fact, prime real estate for germs.

It's a phenomenon most recently illustrated by tests at a typical office environment in the United Kingdom. A consumer advocacy group commissioned the tests in which British microbiologist James Francis took a swab to 33 keyboards, a toilet seat and a toilet door handle at the publication's London office this year.

Francis then tested the swabs to see what nasty germs he managed to pick up. He found that four of the keyboards tested were potential health hazards -- and one had levels of germs five times higher than that found on the toilet seat.

While the results of this simple test cannot necessarily be applied to the rest of the computer keyboards in the United Kingdom for that matter -- the findings are in line with a considerable body of research suggesting that our daily routines put us in near constant contact with potentially dangerous germs.

And health officials have taken notice. In January, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that a norovirus outbreak at a Washington, D.C., elementary school in February that sickened more than 100 may have been spread through contaminated computer equipment.

Specifically, according to an article in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a computer mouse and keyboard in one first-grade classroom tested positive for the virus, which is linked to a disease commonly called Stomach flu.

"This outbreak is the first report of norovirus detected on a computer mouse and keyboard, which highlights the possible role of computer equipment in disease transmission and the difficulty in identifying and properly disinfecting all possible environmental sources of norovirus during outbreaks," noted the authors of the article in the discussion section of the report.

Other research has detected a host of different, potentially disease-causing germs on everything from doorknobs to paper money.

But Is It a Problem?

Considering how often we come into contact with keyboards, it should come as little surprise that the keys and spaces in between are a convenient haven for bacteria and other microbes.

"Keyboards are clearly contaminated," says Dr. Pascal James Imperato, distinguished service professor, chairman of the department of preventive medicine and community health, and director of the master of public health program at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center in New York City.

"Computer keyboards are fairly recent in terms of widespread use," he added. "So there have probably been not too many studies done to check on the level of contamination of keyboards."

Still, considering the widespread nature of these bugs' habitats, the question remains as to whether the presence of potentially harmful microbes on surfaces such as a computer keyboard normally poses a health threat.

Faced with this impermeable membrane, most germs -- even dangerous or potentially deadly ones -- must be content with living on the skin's surface. Only when they enter the body through a break in the skin or through the mouth are they afforded access to the body's more vulnerable tissues.

Best Weapon Against Bacteria: Hand Washing

In a world that is literally covered in germs, most of us must learn to live with the knowledge that, at any given moment, every square inch of our bodies is covered with millions of germs, and that some of these germs have the potential to cause disease.

"The trick is to try and minimize and limit your exposure within a reasonable context," Glatt says. And the best approach to this goal may come in the form of a bar of soap and a sink.

"Handwashing is the single best, cheapest, most effective way to limit your exposure you have throughout your life with potentially dangerous bacteria," Glatt says. "It's amazing how this basic, basic advice is ignored by huge numbers of people every day."

Still worried about your keyboard? Cleaning it regularly may be another smart solution that most currently ignore. A survey of more than 4,000 people that conducted recently revealed that only about half of respondents cleaned their computer keyboards at least once a month.

And while you're at it, you might as well remind your co-workers to stay clear of your computers and laptops. Imperato notes that sharing your keyboard likely makes it a much more dangerous surface when it comes to passing diseases.

"If somebody is using their own keyboard and no one else is using it, then the chances of that keyboard serving as a method of transmission is fairly small," he says. "But if we're talking about common keyboards, then there is a higher probability of transmission occurring."

There are a number of practices that users should implement to keep their computers clean: 

1. Unplug your keyboard, turn it upside down and shake out any loose dust and food crumbs inside. Disinfect the surface with alcohol wipes.
2. Gently wipe surfaces with a soft, lint-free cloth. Lightly dampen (not wet) the cloth with a small amount of water or an approved computer cleaning fluid.
3. Use compressed air in short bursts to blow dust and debris off computer components. Don’t use a cloth to wipe down internal computer components.
4. Shared headphones can can spread germs that can infect a users ears or even spread head lice. Do not share headsets is the advice given by the health officials.
5. The mouse should also be wiped down in the same manner as the keyboard, along with the mouse mat and desk top.
6. Avoid touching computer screens as these can also be a source of germs if people touch the screen with their fingers. These should be regularly cleaned with screen wipes to remove dust and germs.

Credits: LA Health Mag December 2014 | Which? Computing