A study in the US has looked at a number of professions to discover who work in the most “germiest” jobs.

London, England (November 2009) - The spread of so called Super bugs such as Swine flu, MRSA and other pathogens such as e-coli and C. difficile represent a major health and safety risk within both the home and the office.

Researchers in North America lead by the University of Arizona’s Dr Charles Gerba, Professor in Microbiology set out to look at a number of professions to discover who were the most contaminated workers based on the levels of germ found in their work environments.

According to this research it was discovered that the bacteria levels found in accountants offices were almost seven times higher than that in solicitors’ offices.

The study discovered that the telephones, desks and computer keyboards used by teachers, accountants and bankers all had up to twenty times more bacteria per square inch than other professions tested.

Study highlights

The professional most at risk – ranked from the highest contaminated to the least

In the US 57% of employees snack at their desks at least once a day and over 75% of workers only occasionally clean their desks before eating and 20% never do. As employees spend more time working at their desks, the concentration of bacteria will only continue to increase making your workstation a germs snack bar!

Dr Gerba recommends that all employees should ensure that they frequently wash their hands and use sanitising wipes on hard surfaces such as IT equipment on a daily basis.