Experts took swabs from the numeric key pads on a string of city centre ATMs around England which are used by thousands of shoppers every day. They then took similar swabs from the seats of nearby public lavatories and compared the bacteria under microscopes in a lab.
The swab were left to grow overnight and samples from both locations were found to contain pseudomonads and bacillus, bacterias which are known to cause sickness and diarrhoea. A white-coated gadgy said:
''We were interested in comparing the levels of bacterial contamination between heavily-used ATM machines and public lavatories. We were surprised by our results because the ATM machines were shown to be heavily contaminated with bacteria; to the same level as nearby public lavatories.
In addition the bacteria we detected on ATMs were similar to those from the toilet, which are well known as causes of common human illnesses.''
Best not lick your fingers after a visit to the ATM- or a public bog...
No comments:
Post a Comment