Surfaces in schools

Doorknobs, bookshelves— these and other commonly touched surfaces are where diseases lurk in schools. This seems like common sense, but a group of researchers at The University of Hong Kong studied exactly that question a few years ago, with regard to the flu: Are schools actually disease vectors and, if so, which surfaces are the most contaminated? “Apart from droplets and direct contact, indirect contact transmission may also be important in schools, where children spend long hours in close proximity to each other and also share objects frequently, while having relatively lower personal hygiene,” they wrote. The results? Influenza was detected the most on doorknobs. Of all the samples collected from doors and their knobs, 4.5 percent were found to have the flu virus. Staircases and handrails were not particularly virulent vectors, but students’ desks were, with 3.5 percent of the samples collected containing evidence of the flu. One thing in particular surprised the researchers— there was a surprisingly high amount of flu found in the morning, before students even arrived at school. “The presence of influenza virus on touch surfaces before the beginning of school day was unexpected, and it may indicate insufficient disinfection of surfaces on the preceding day,” they wrote.