Keyboards used in hospitals are havens for bacteria

By LEE BOWMANSCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE
Electronic recordkeeping in
hospitals and other health care settings may be spreading more than just information. A new study presented yesterday shows that some nasty bacteria can survive and grow for at least 24 hours on computer keyboards.
"Not only do we demonstrate that some bacteria can survive for a long time on keyboards, but that it's possible to transmit them from the keys to the fingertips -- and if you're not careful about washing hands, potentially pass them along through contact with other patients," said Dr. Gary Noskin, medical director of health care epidemiology and quality at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago

. . . .
His team "inoculated" keyboards and covers with three types of bacteria commonly found in hospitals -- vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PSAE). They found that the first two bugs continued to grow for at least 24 hours. "PSAE, on the other hand, could be recovered only up to one hour on (the) keyboard and five minutes on the keyboard cover," Noskin said.
. . .

Washing the equipment with hospital disinfectants heavy on ammonia killed the germs after it was left on for five to 10 minutes -- which has grim implications for the electronic circuits beneath the keys.

The take away is to wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands. It is particularly important to wash after using a shared keyboard. Alcohol based hand sanitizers are a solid and proven alternative. These sanitizers are flammable, however, so they should be kept away from electrical equipment (including outlets and keyboards) and carpeting, and they should be stored in fire proof containers when not in use. It's safe to keep one on your desk, but you shouldn't leave six pump bottles or dispenser refill bags in your desk drawer.

It's also interesting to note that it takes hospital grade disinfectants to kill the germs, and those chemicals need to be in contact with the equipment for 5 - 10 minutes. An alcohol pad wipe down doesn't cut it, neither does a quick wipe with the heavy duty cleansers if you dry it off right away. Those hospital grade cleaning supplies are very caustic to living things, so it isn't particularly safe (to you or your equipment) or practical to wipe down your keyboard with them.