Work desk More Men than Women Dirty

There have been many studies showing that the work table or office is one of the largest sources of germs that people have. Even the specifics of a new study claims there are hundreds of species of bacteria on your desk.

The study, funded by a manufacturer of cleaning products was identified that there are at least 500 species of bacteria in the office and work desk personnel men are more prone to bacteria than female employees.

However, using hand sanitizers do not trigger because it is actually the bacteria that exist on your desk is not something to worry about, say researchers. Regardless, there are many bacteria that are harmless, even helping to maintain human health.

"You do not have to worry about your desk because it is simply a reflection of yourself," said researcher Scott Kelley, professor of biology at San Diego State University refers to the bacteria that you find on a desk or computer keyboard.


These bacteria have been "together with us all the time and will not make us sick," he added as reported by MSNBC.


Instead, the researchers hope to document the various bacteria in an office with employees who are generally in good health so scientists could see bacteria 'deviant' and can cause health problems, said Kelley. Such bacteria would arise when there are changes in the office such as air vents, he said.


According to Kelley, one thing that underlies the quest is 90 percent of human life spent indoors (indoor), but surprisingly little is known about the diversity of bacteria in environments such as offices, including the amount and origin of these bacteria.


Kelley and his colleagues took samples from 90 offices in New York City, San Francisco and Tucson, Arizona. Researchers wiped the chair, telephone, desk, computer keyboard and mouse and bacterial DNA was analyzed to identify the type and amount of bacteria present.


The result most of the bacteria that are found to originate from human skin, nasal cavity, mouth or intestines, the researchers say. From the soil bacterium also found there, added Kelley. In addition, bacteria-bacteria more commonly found in office chairs and the phone than on a computer keyboard and mouse, the researchers said.


If viewed from the owner of the table, then the average male employee save about 10-20 percent of bacteria on his desk more than female employees. This may be because men tend to be less hygienic.


"Men are known not washing hands and brushing their teeth as often as women and are usually considered to have a more sordid nature," said researchers in a report published in the journal PLoS ONE.


Besides the male is usually larger than women so it has a larger surface for bacteria to live and breed, the researchers say.


Office in New York City also claimed most of the bacteria, while officials in San Francisco is the cleanest among all office employees in the three cities studied. But what might cause this discrepancy is still unknown, said Kelley.


Meanwhile, the type of bacteria found in New York and San Francisco appear to differ from those found in Tucson. Possibly because the cities in the south (Tucson) has a different climate of Tucson, so the sample tends to have a number of bacteria from the Bacteroidetes and the Cyanobacteria are less than the two other cities.