March 7, 2005—New York City has the most virus-laden office surfaces, according to a recent survey by Charles Gerba, a University of Arizona microbiologist. Samples were collected from office buildings in Atlanta, Chicago, New York City, San Francisco and Tucson, Arizona to determine how much human parainfluenza 1 virus was present.
Areas sampled included telephone mouthpieces, computer mice, desktops, doorknobs and handles, conference rooms, light switches and office cubicles. Germy New York—where half of all office surfaces contained the virus—was the most virus-laden city followed by Atlanta, San Francisco, Chicago and Tucson. Conference rooms had far fewer germs than cubicles, while desktops had most of the tested surfaces. In all office buildings, the light switch was the least-contaminated site.
The study involved 328 surfaces and was conducted with a grant from Clorox. To see the study, visit the Clorox Web site.
