Office cleaning for keyboards to prevent heal

Office cleaning for keyboards to prevent heal - 02/05/2008

Employers could help prevent their staff from developing illnesses by having regular office cleaning for their keyboards, new research has suggested.

Research by consumer group Which? found that one keyboard in particular harboured as much as five times the germs found on the office toilet seats and 150 times the recommended bacteria limit.

Germs responsible for causing E.coli and staphylococcus aures food poisoning were just some of the bugs discovered on the offending office equipment swabbed that included 33 keyboards.

Microbiologist James Francis claimed that the readings were "off the scale".

He said of the dirtiest keyboard: "I haven't seen a reading like that in a very long time.

"These results are generally typical of offices up and down the country," he added.

Editor of Which? computing, Sarah Kidner advised companies give their equipment at least a spring office cleaning overhaul in a bid to prevent health hazards from developing.