A virus that can cause warts and more serious diseases has been found on escalator handrails, lift buttons and door handles in several busy districts of the city, according to a study released yesterday by the Society of Physicians of Hong Kong.
It reports that traces of human papillomavirus (HPV) have been found in seven busy locations, including escalator handrails at the Prince Edward MTR station and the main door handle of the Fa Yuen Street Public Library in Mong Kok. The society examined 62 locations across the city last month.
Society president Dr Paul Lam Tat-chung warned the virus could be carried on the surface of the skin and cause skin infections or even genital warts if people 'did not wash their hands thoroughly before touching any open wounds'.
Persistent infection with some forms of HPV can cause cancer, including cervical cancer.
But dermatology specialist Dr Henry Chan Hin-lee said there was not enough evidence to show that contact with the virus in environments such as escalator handrails and door handles could cause illness. The virus cannot survive even a full day outside the body, he said.
The study also found HPV on escalator handrails in a Mong Kok shopping arcade, a toilet flush handle in a commercial building in Jordan, and on handrails at a Kowloon Park playground and a pedestrian bridge near Hung Hom MTR station.
The Society of Physicians and the Family Planning Association yesterday announced the launch of a city-wide vaccination programme against HPV for primary and secondary school students of both sexes over the age of nine.