Those airport security bins carry more germs than the toilets, scientists say
The bathroom is the least of your worries – with toilet seats carrying fewer viruses than any other surface in an airport
Next time you go through airport security, it might be worth washing your hands afterward.
According to the results of a new study published by Finnish and British researchers, half of plastic airport security bins may carry viruses that cause respiratory infections.
The study, published last week in the BioMed Central Infectious Diseases journal, tested swabs from surface samples of the plastic bins at Helsinki Airport that were taken at three different times during the peak of the 2015-2016 flu season.
The lead authors of the article, who hailed from Finland’s National Institute for Health and Welfare and the University of Nottingham, concluded that the screening trays “appear commonly contaminated,” and that they are one of the surfaces at an airport where passengers are most likely to pick up harmful viruses.
“We found the highest frequency of respiratory viruses on plastic trays used in security check areas for depositing hand-carried luggage and personal items,” the scientists wrote in their journal article. “These boxes typically cycle with high frequency to subsequent passengers, and are typically seized with a wide palm surface area and strong grip.”