ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

More than one in 10 people's hands are so contaminated with faecal organisms that the levels of bacteria detected were equal to what you would expect to find in a dirty toilet bowl, a new study suggests.

The research, carried out at Queen Mary, University of London and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, showed more than a quarter (26 per cent) of hands sampled showed traces of faecal contamination including bacteria such as E.coli.

The 272 participants who took part in the scientific study were also asked to fill out a questionnaire with the results revealing only 39 per cent of respondents washed their hands before eating.

The vast majority (91 per cent) also stated they washed their hands after using the toilet, although the levels of faecal organisms contaminating the cards and currency suggested otherwise, researchers said.

Eight per cent of bank cards and six per cent of bank notes also showed gross levels of contamination.