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Could a touchscreen make you ill?

Touchscreens are a vital part of everyday life. 

When we visit the doctor, or a hospital, go shopping, visit a bank or travel, we touch more surfaces than any other generation in history, it's said.

When there are four times as many germs found on a self-service touchscreen than on a toilet seat, it’s no surprise to learn many people are concerned about touching surfaces, and being exposed to a variety of infectious germs like MRSA, E. coli and C. diff.

In a recent consumer survey from nano-technology outfit Kastus, over 70% of respondents reported being fearful of using public touchscreens.

Bank ATMs caused the most concern, with doctor’s surgery and hospital check in screens running a close second. Fast food chain order screens, supermarket self-service tills and airport check-in kiosks were also identified as of concern.

It's claimed that by 2050 antibiotic drug resistant infections will kill an extra 10 million people a year worldwide. That's more than currently die from cancer.

Back in 2015 there were a reported 52,000 cases of superbugs such as MRSA and E. coli and 2,100 deaths in the UK alone with 700,000 deaths, worldwide.

With the WHO reporting that antimicrobial resistance is a serious threat to global health, people are looking to manufacturers to help control the situation, asking for touchscreen and smartphone businesses to introduce an environmentally friendly, scientifically proven solution that would help keep touchscreen surfaces germ-free.

Of those surveyed, in excess of 80% said they'd actively seek out businesses or establishment which offered a touchscreen with an invisible germ-free coating.

Parents also raised concerns over other touchscreens including mobile phones and tablets. Smartphones, carry 10 times more bacteria than the average toilet seat, but an alarming 65% of people surveyed revealed they never clean their mobile phones.

As 90% of respondents with children under 12 regularly share their mobile phones with their children, phone screens are also a key area for manufacturers to look at.

John Browne, founder and CEO of Kastus, said: “Touchscreens and smartphones are an ideal surface for bacteria to reproduce due to the heat they emit, harboring all kinds of germs that can easily thrive in those conditions.

“There is a scientifically proven solution that will help manufacturers protect against the spread of bacteria, we just need to do more to encourage the widespread use of it as it delivers a very real control measure in the fight against antimicrobial infections.”

To find out more about Kastus, visit www.kastus.com