A recent study conducted by Finnish and British researchers reveals that the plastic bins used to inspect personal items at airport security have as much of a 50 per cent chance of carrying the viruses that cause upper respiratory infections.

Based on swabs taken at Helsinki Airport at three points during the 2015-2016 flu season, the surface of as many as one out of every two bins, which are typically handled with a strong, open-palm grip, contain rhinovirus or adenovirus – the culprits that cause cold- and flu symptoms.

This is a much higher rate of contamination than toilet seats in airports because bathrooms are cleaned much more frequently.

But there is a glint of good news to come out of all this. The scientists write in the paper, which was published in the BioMed Central Infectious Diseases journal, says, “This knowledge helps in the recognition of hot spots for contact transmission risk, which could be important during an emerging pandemic threat or severe epidemic.”

Meantime, be sure to wash your hands after you get through security and, out of respect to your fellow passengers, maybe wash them before the TSA check, too.

Now, we’d like to know – who’s studying the carpet square in the body scan machine that many passengers stand on barefoot?

Source: Budget Travel.com

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