<\/a><\/a><\/a>London: The average mobile phone carries 18 times more potentially harmful germs than a flush handle in a men’s toilet, according to research for consumer group Which?.
\nA hygiene expert who swabbed and analysed 30 handsets for the study found seven had warning or high levels of environmental bacteria.
\nOne harboured levels of bacteria, including faecal coliforms, high enough to give its user a serious stomach\u00a0upset.
\nWhich? said the findings suggest millions of UK mobiles would exceed the recommended acceptable levels of bacteria, reports Irish Independent.
\nWhile not immediately harmful, elevated levels indicate poor hygiene and can act as a breeding ground for more serious bacteria.
\nHygiene expert Jim Francis told Which?: “The levels of potentially harmful bacteria on one mobile were off the scale. That phone needs sterilising.”
\nThe tests showed how easily bacteria could linger on the surface of a phone, which could be passed on to other people if they held the handset to look at photos or other applications.
\nWhich? advises that phones can be cleaned with an proper wipe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

London: The average mobile phone carries 18 times more potentially harmful germs than a flush handle in a men’s toilet, according to research for consumer group Which?. A hygiene expert who swabbed and analysed 30 handsets for the study found seven had warning or high levels of environmental bacteria. One harboured levels of bacteria, including … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n