Airport trays carry more viruses than toilets

London, September 5

The plastic trays that passengers put their hand luggage in at airport security checkpoints harbour the highest levels of viruses, even more than toilets, a study warns.

Researchers from the University of Nottingham in the UK swabbed a variety of surfaces at Helsinki-Vantaa airport in Finland during the winter of 2016.

They set out to identify and quantify the respiratory viruses on frequently-touched surfaces in airports.

The team found evidence of viruses on 10 per cent of the surfaces tested and most commonly on the plastic trays that are circulated along the passenger queue at the hand luggage X-ray checkpoint.

The study, published in the journal BMC Infectious Diseases, concludes that hand washing and careful coughing hygiene are crucial to the control of contagious infections in public areas with high volumes of people passing through. The findings add weight to previous studies showing that microbes are commonly found on surfaces in public transport vehicles and will strengthen public health advice in preparation for future flu pandemics, researchers said.

The most common virus found in the survey was rhinovirus, which causes the common cold, but the swabs also picked up influenza A virus, researchers said.

Interestingly, no respiratory viruses were found on toilet surfaces, they said. — PTI