SAN FRANCISCO – Hotel guests leave behind more than just socks and old paperbacks: A new study found viruses on TV remotes, light switches and even hotel pens after cold sufferers checked out.
The germ testing was done before the rooms were cleaned, so it likely overstates the risks that most travelers would face. Nevertheless, it shows the potential hazards if a hotel’s turnaround amounts to little more than changing the sheets and wiping out the tub.
“You sure hope the cleaning people were good,” said Dr. Owen Hendley, the University of Virginia pediatrician who presented results of the study Friday at a meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.
Researchers had 15 people with lab-confirmed rhinovirus colds spend a night in individual rooms at a nearby hotel and, after they checked out, tested 10 items they said they had touched. About one-third of the objects were contaminated with rhinovirus.
“We were surprised to find so many,” Winther said.
Virus was found on seven out of 14 door handles and six of 14 pens. Six out of 15 light switches, TV remotes and faucets tested positive, as did five of 15 phones. Shower curtains, coffee makers and alarm clocks also harbored viruses.
Surprisingly, virus turned up on only one of the 10 toilet handles tested.
Because they had developed immunity to these germs, doctors could study how easily they picked them up without putting them at risk of getting sick again.
Each volunteer visited two rooms and their hands were tested afterward for viruses. Results were positive on 60 percent of contacts in rooms where mucus had dried for at least an hour, and on 33 percent of those in rooms where mucus had dried overnight.
Some in the hotel industry say they have strict policies on how to disinfect rooms between guests.
“We do wipe everything down, from the remote control to the telephone,” said Michelle Pike, corporate director of housekeeping for Hilton brand hotels, which has 1,900 hotels around the world. Most of them are independently operated but the chain does have rules for disinfection, she said.
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