Desk Hygiene
The author's filthy workspaceIn a study commissioned by the Clorox corporation, Charles Gerba (2007) of the University of Arizona tested surfaces in the workplace for levels of bacteria. The surprising result: women's workspaces were germier than men's. The study looked at phones, keyboards, mice, desk surfaces, and pens, among other surfaces. Of these, men only out-germed women on the desk surfaces. In an article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC, 1/21/07), Gerba warns against depending on new "anti-bacterial" office products to cut down on the spread of infection: the products are rarely tested for efficacy. In the same article, Gerba says that hand sanitizers have been "proven to cut absenteeism way down." Indeed, muliple studies (e.g. Hammond et al (2000), White et al, 2001) suggest that hand sanitizers do reduce school absenteeism, but see Meadows and LeSaux (2004) for a critique of these findings. However, CDC guidelines (2002) still recommend the use of alcohol-based handrubs in health care settings.
I'm a slob. I eat at my desk. I hardly ever clean it. I don't throw out my coffee cups. I routinely hold pens in my mouth (and I catch myself doing it with other people's pens on a regular basis.) In short, I'm a walking science fair project. However, I still put this study in the category that my partner calls "FUD": fear, uncertainty, and doubt. While I appreciate Gerba's plea for people to stay home when they're sick, I'm highly doubtful that using anti-microbial phone wipes will significantly improve my health.