Unclean mobiles 'like sucking a toilet bowl'

Using a mobile phone can be as risky as putting your face on a toilet bowl, research has found.

In tests of mobiles belonging to 200 doctors and nurses working in operating theatres and intensive care units, 95 per cent of handsets were contaminated with at least one type of bacteria.

One in eight of the handsets examined was shown to be carrying the potentially fatal MRSA superbug but only 10 per cent of staff questioned admitted to regularly cleaning their phones, according to research conducted by Ondokuz Mayis University, Turkey and reported in the current edition of the Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials.

Mobiles are obvious contenders to pick up germs given their regular handling, but surveys reveal Britons frequently make use of the gadget in the toilet which could also explain some of the germs.

Commenting on the research, Andy Felton, director of microbial sterilisation systems company Purelight UK, said in a statement: "Based on these findings, holding your phone to your mouth is as dangerous as placing your face on a toilet bowl, and yet we do it all day long without a second thought."

Mobiles are by no means the only culprit in the dirty gadget line-up - computer keyboards are also particularly germ-friendly owing to office workers eating at their desks.