Newsroom: Press Kit
PLEASE NOTE: All research presented at the Joint Meeting is embargoed until date/time of presentation or until presented at an official Joint Meeting press conference, whichever comes first.
Contamination of Surfaces in Homes of Adults with Natural Rhinovirus Colds and Transfer to Fingertips During Normal Daily Activities
EMBARGOED UNTIL: Tuesday, October 28, 2008, 12:15 PM EDT
(Session 303, V-4159)
J Hendley
University of Virginia Health System
Charlottesville, VA, United States
Phone: 434.924.2570
joh@virginia.edu
The hands that prepare warm meals or wipe away tears could also pass along the cold virus according to researchers from the University of Virginia Health System. Two years ago, the same researchers reported that rhinovirus genome can exist on surfaces in hotel rooms for 24 hours after an infected guest left and might be picked up by the next guest. In the current study Dr. Birgit Winther, associate professor of otolaryngology and pediatrics, and Dr. Owen Hendley, professor of pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, tested surfaces in the homes of people with colds. Their research will be presented at the joint Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy and the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
Nasal secretions from 30 study participants with early common colds were collected and tested for the rhinovirus genome. Each participant identified 10 sites in their home which they had touched during the preceding 18 hours. Those sites were then tested for the presence of rhinovirus genome. Nasal secretions from 16 of the participants were positive for rhinovirus. Sixty-seven (42%) of the 160 surfaces in homes were positive for rhinovirus genome. Most frequently surfaces contaminated were doorknobs, refrigerator door handles, TV remote controls and bathroom faucets.
“We are now more aware that when we catch a cold, we first have to catch the virus with our hands,” said Winther. “When we started this, we did not know if it was transmitted from handshakes or from surfaces. Now we can show that from touching surfaces like telephone handsets and refrigerator doors we can pick up the rhinovirus.”
In subsequent work, each participant’s own mucus was deposited on surfaces and tested to see if rhinovirus was transferred to fingertips through daily life activities such as flipping a light switch off, touching a number on a telephone keypad and holding the telephone handset. Detection of rhinovirus genome on fingertips following these activities was 89%, 69% and 53% at 1 hour, 24 and 48 hours after contamination, respectively.
“Some people still spray the air with disinfectants, but rhinovirus doesn’t fly through the air. I think that the message from this research is that we need to focus more wisely on cleaning commonly touched surfaces in the home,” Winther added.
Winther and her team also want to communicate that people with colds need to be vigilant about washing their hands before touching surfaces to avoid contaminating commonly touched areas in the home.
Detailed information about the study entitled “Contamination of Surfaces in Homes of Adults with Natural Rhinovirus Colds and Transfer to Fingertips During Normal Daily Activities” will be discussed in the Respiratory Viruses II session on Tuesday, October 28, 2008 at 12:15 p.m. at the ICAAC/IDSA meeting in Washington D.C.