Dubai: One in every six mobile phones is infected with E. coli bacteria from faecal matter, a study released on Saturday shows.
According to the British study, faecal bacteria can survive on hands and surfaces for hours, especially in warmer climates.
It is passed on via door handles, food and mobile phones, so often used in bathrooms.
The study also showed that only 34 per cent of people worldwide wash their hands with soap and water after using the toilet and before eating.
"Dirty hands help spread pathogens and highly resistant bacteria," said one Dubai-based doctor.
According to Unicef more than three million children die every year due to diarrhoea and pneumonia, spread by unclean hands.
Critical moments
"The two critical moments are after using the toilet and before eating or handling food," said Mohammad I. Ali, assistant vice-president of food safety and cleaning services at Emirates Flights Catering.
"Food hygiene is a very sensitive issue."
The executive was speaking to Gulf News on Global Handwashing Day which was marked yesterday.
Emirates Flights Catering prepares 100,000 meals a day for planes leaving Dubai.
Ali said there has never been a complaint of food poisoning in the airline's history.
Global Handwashing Day was originally created for children and schools, but each year over 200 million people are involved in celebrations in more than 100 countries.
Emirates Flights Catering called in a senior Dubai Municipality officer to brief employees on the importance of washing hands before preparing food.
Children of the employees were also shown the proper way to wash their hands.
"There are 4,500 staff on the floor preparing the meals," Ali said.
He added that besides spreading the culture of handwashing in the company, it also has 45 hygiene officers overseeing the meal packaging process.
Do-It-Yourself Vaccine
- • Proper handwashing requires soap and only a small amount of water.
- • One should cover wet hands with soap
- • Scrub all surfaces, palms, back, between fingers, under fingernails for 20 seconds
- • 0 to 34 per cent: Observed rates around the world of hand washing after using toilet and before eating
- • Unicef estimates that diarrhoea kills one child every 30 seconds.
- • Human faeces is the main source of diarrhoeal germs. It is a source of typhoid, cholera, gastro-enteric infections, flu and pneumonia.
