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Senior Kristen Culver started to rethink using the library computer lab after she learned that a dirty keyboard could contain more germs than a toilet seat.
In 2007, for the first time, the spread of the stomach flu was attributed to a shared computer and mouse, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the Associated Content Web site. An outbreak of the stomach-flu-causing norovirus was contracted by 27 students and two faculty members in an elementary school.
"We need disinfectant wipes for the computers like they have at WinCo for the shopping carts," Culver said.
She uses the computers in the library all the time, and has noticed they are hardly ever cleaned, and the screens are often covered in fingerprints, she said.
Bacteria are the biggest concern when it comes to dirty keyboards, but getting sick from them had never crossed her mind, she said
"I am not going to live in fear of microorganisms," Culver said. "You can get sick from anywhere."
The average desktop computer carries 400 times more bacteria than the average toilet seat, according to a study from University of Arizona.
Keyboards are maybe cleaned once every two weeks, and even then, there are computers on campus that she thinks never get cleaned, Culver said.
Numerous studies have also shown that the germs on computer keyboards can stay alive for up to two days, according to the Associated Content Web site.
If people's hands are contaminated, and someone else came and used the keyboard after them, then they could be at risk of picking up the organism, said Kiyomi Bird, a public health nurse.
Many surfaces are potential places for disease transmission, including papers that are handled, or the tops of desks, she said. Keyboards could be harder to clean than desk tops, because they have all the nooks and crannies.
"The greatest risk comes from people's hands having germs on them, and then they touch their mouths or rub their eyes," she said. "The biggest concern is not the keyboard itself, but the people touching the keyboard."
People need to practice good hygiene and good hand-washing practices, she said.
"It's the greatest source of protection," Bird said.
There are disinfectants used every night in restrooms, labs, on doorknobs and all over campus, said Durbin Sayers, manager of custodial and moving services.
"We do not maintain, to any degree, the computers at all, including the keyboards," he said.
If the keyboards were cleaned by his department, employees would turn them upside down to get out all the stuff jammed under the keys, use air depressant to get out the dust and a mild detergent to wipe over the keys, Sayers said.
"Disinfecting areas that should be disinfected is key," he said.
It is possible the custodial staff may take over cleaning the computers in the future, Sayers said.
"But it hasn't been an issue to this point," he said.
Kristin Chulick can be reached at
kchulick@theorion.com
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