Computer,Filth,How,our,Worksta computer Computer Filth How our Workstations Harbour MRSA and other
Gone are those times when the companies and the organisations didn't need a hi-tech system to handle them. Owing to the considerable increase in the business sector and thus, an enormous increase in the complexity of the organisational struc ----------------------------------------------------------Permission is granted for the below article to forward,reprint, distribute, use for ezine, newsletter, website,offer as free bonus or part of a product for sale as longas no changes a
A recentstudy by the University of Arizona has discovered that computer keyboards housemore germs than toilet seats harbouring deadly bacteria such MRSA. Microbiologistsdiscovered there is an average of 3,300 microbes per square inch on ourkeyboards and 1,700 per square inch on a mouse, which is compared to just 49microbes on a toilet seat! With theincreasing use of computers in the health profession there is a worry that anincrease in hospital infections could be imminent as keyboards can act as assuperhighways for bacteria and viruses, transferring them to our hands andvice-versa, possibly making us ill through infection and transferring themicrobes to other people and surfaces. Bacterialevels increase dramatically during break times, the researchers discovered, asfood spills such as coffee and biscuit crumbs harbour entire microscopic ecosystems. And thedeadly superbugs such as MRSA, which are untreatable with regular antibioticsand claim over 5,000 lives each year in the UK alone, are present on at least aquarter of all keyboards. Of courseregular cleaning of workstations would cut back possible infections and reducethe number of microbes present, however cleaning keyboards is not normally apriority in a busy working day and keyboards and mice can be difficult toclean, with plenty of nooks and crannies for germs to hide in such as theraised keys. Computerkeyboards are also pieces of electrical equipment and do not react kindly tofluids and any over enthusiastic cleaning could result in a broken keyboard, oreven worse an entire computer. Of coursein hospitals, the problem of infections from keyboards is well known and withthe increased reliance on computers to store patients records it is feared therisk of infections being transferred from keyboards to patients is going torise dramatically over the next few years. However,several companies are now producing keyboards and other computer equipment thatis completely waterproof, easy to clean and made from bacteria resistantsilicone. Thesekeyboards are also flat, compared to a conventional keyboard, allowing nohiding place for germs, making it easy to scrub every inch with either ananti-bacterial cloth or even a complete emersion in water. Waterproof mice arealso available made from the same bacteria resistant silicone. Thesemedical keyboards and peripherals are now gaining popularity in hospitals andother medical environments with the aim to curb the number of infections, likeMRSA, caught in hospitals but other computer users that are either worriedabout infections or needing a keyboard that can be easily cleaned are opting touse waterproof keyboards.
Computer,Filth,How,our,Worksta