The disinfectant is sold out, the soap is to almost – kill wash your hands regularly, the corona virus reliably.
An object of the passes still fairly common in the hands, the phone – this was therefore for a long time as a virus spreader.
Many people, therefore, try also to clean the Smartphone with a disinfectant, and co. thoroughly.
But is that really necessary? The Coronavirus through the Smartphone at all?
Experts from different fields have new discoveries and to clarify.
Mobile phones are less contaminated than assumed
The touch screens of Smartphones have a bad reputation – this is also in view of the current Corona pandemic is not new.
From all sides, experts, physicians, virologists, and co., therefore, to give tips and Tricks for a successful mobile Hygiene.
These tips are important, because with each contact with new germs, bacteria and pathogens are directed to the surfaces of the electronic devices – this applies not only to the use of the smartphone.
According to Hygiene experts, such recommendations remain, however, still questionable. The micro-biologist Markus Egert of Furtwangen University, who conducts research on Hygiene in everyday life, told the ‘süddeutsche Zeitung’: “mobile phones are much more contaminated and less, than you think that.”
Already in 2015, Egert found out in a study that on a square centimeter of the Display, on average, a bacterium finds.
Photo gallery: 10 tips to protect yourself against viruses and bacteria
There is no need to disinfect the phone
Also, the Medical Director of the German Advisory centre for Hygiene (BZH), Ernst Tabori currently sees no need to disinfect the Smartphones, because this is a very personal subject that is rarely passed on.
He explains: “The mobile phone is the mirror image of our own cleanliness or germs. It is important, therefore, to wash the hands regularly and thoroughly.”
The Federal Institute for risk obewertung (BfR) informs the consumer, in a question catalog: “There are currently no cases in which it is demonstrated that people in a different way, such as through the consumption of contaminated food or by contact with contaminated objects with the novel Coronavirus have been infected.
For other corona viruses no reports of infections due to food or contact with dry surfaces are known.”
The main mode of transmission droplet infection remains
Of course, it is to clean again advisable be Smartphone, Tablet and co.
This is also a microbiologist Egert and supplemented, States: “It is quite sufficient for the device with a discreetly damp cloth or glasses cloth to wipe. As a result, the majority of the fat residues and microorganisms from the touch screen to be removed. Also, the unconscious, mechanical Wiping it on the pants or the T-Shirt helps, but for everyday use, to keep the phone clean.
According to the experts, only people who work in a clinical environment and the equipment to take there, your Smartphone or Tablet in addition to clean and disinfect should.
Hands the A and O is to wash
In addition, the virologist Christian Drosten of the Charité hospital in Berlin compared to the radio stations Germany radio Nova points out that, most likely, the main route of transmission of the novel Coronavirus is via droplet infection.
The risk of droplet infection by a conversation, or cough on a Person is far greater than that caused by the contact transfer via door handles or even the Smartphone.
To appease the Conscience or to feel better, you can clean, of course, be Smartphone with a disinfectant-dampened cloth. According to BZH-chief Tabori microbiologist Egert, this is not necessary and too bad even the mobile phone.
The experts recommend then against in dealing with Smartphones, Tablets, and also other thorough items to carry out of hygiene, to protect themselves during the Corona-crisis in many other areas of life is sufficient.
Sources
- The National Center for Biotechnology Information: Bacteria on smartphone touchscreens in a German university setting and evaluation of two popular cleaning methods using commercially available cleaning products, retrieved on 20.03.2020 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25305112
- Federal Institute for risk assessment: Can be transferred to the novel Coronavirus on food and items?, archived from the original on 20.03.2020 https://www.bfr.bund.de/cm/343/kann-das-neuartige-coronavirus-ueber-lebensmittel-und-gegenstaende-uebertragen-werden.pdf
Antonia Hagedorn
*The post “Alleged viruses drying machine: Can transfer the Smartphone is the Coronavirus?” is published by FitForFun. Contact with the executives here.