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Smartphones may be acting as “Trojan horses” for the coronavirus, a new study warned.
Bond University researchers have warned that phones can harbor a staggering cocktail of live germs, including the coronavirus, and are urging the public to regularly decontaminate their devices.
In the study, the team reviews 56 studies and found that golden staphylococcus and E. coli microbes were among the most common mistakes on phones.
Dr. Lotti Tajouri, who led the study, described the smartphones as “five-star hotels with premium, heated spas, a free buffet for microbes to thrive.”
He added: “They have temperature control, we keep them in our pockets, we are addicted to them.
“We talk to them and deposit droplets that can be full of viruses, bacteria, whatever. We eat with them, so we give nutrients to microorganisms.
“And no one, absolutely no one, washes or decontaminates their phone.”
Dr. Tajouri added that some smartphone users touch their devices up to 5,000 times a day.
He said: “We know from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that 80 percent of all infections are associated with our hands.
“You can wash your hands as many times as you want, and you should, but if you touch a contaminated phone, you are contaminating yourself again. Think of your phone as your third hand.
The researchers suggest that smartphones may be to blame for the rapid spread of the coronavirus in nearby communities.
Dr. Tajouri said: “The extraordinarily rapid contagion that has puzzled scientists could reside within these mobile phones that spread COVID-19 everywhere at high speed.
“After all, they are everywhere, traveling the world on planes, cruises and trains.
“Let’s take that hypothesis seriously. If we clean our phones on a daily basis and this makes a difference, we could, with this little curve of action, reduce the COVID-19 epidemic and save lives. “
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