Everyday household routines can spread infection with remarkable ease, researchers have found.

However, an expert in microbiology has said this does not necessarily mean that people are at risk.

A team from the University of Arizona studied how easy it is to spread disease by actions such as picking up the telephone and turning on taps.

The study focused on two bugs:

a bacterium called Serratia rubidea - similar to Shigella and E. coli, both of which cause stomach infections a bacterial virus called PRD-1 - similar to human viruses that cause sickness such as rotavirus

The researchers measured the proportion of bacteria and viruses passed on to the hand following infection. This is known as the transmission rate.

They found that using a telephone receiver was a particularly effective way to spread infection.

The transmission rate from receiver to hand was 39% for the bacteria and 66% for the viruses.

Full Story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_759000/759240.stm