Official News page 9

REAL LIFE NEWS: THERE'S A VIRUS LURKING IN YOUR HOME

by Hazed

No, not a computer virus this time, but a biological virus: the rhinovirus that causes the common cold. They say "coughs and sneezes spread diseases" and while that is true of the cold, it turns out it's also spread by contact with ordinary household objects. TV remote controls, bathroom taps and fridge doors turn out to be harbouring a lovely collection of germs!

Researchers from the University of Virginia swabbed common household surfaces in 30 homes and found that there were traces of rhinovirus on 42% of the surfaces they tested. Since the virus is very hardy it can survive for up to two days on surfaces, so you can see how easily it can be passed from one person to another in a family, no matter how careful you are not to cough and sneeze in other people's faces.

What's more, infectious rhinovirus was detected on the fingertips of almost a quarter of the subjects one hour after they touched contaminated surfaces.

The answer is to thoroughly clean surfaces that are frequently touched... yet another reason I want my own, personal cleaning droid!

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