Have you thought about vacuuming your car and all the seats, especially baby’s? You might do well to do so, suggest researchers at the University of Birmingham in England. If you wash your hands, know that their case is solid: the child car seat would contain 100 different germs per square centimeter against only 50 germs on the toilet bowls. Something to make you want to clean …
Researchers inspected the interiors of 20 cars and compared them to the interiors of homes before coming to this unappealing conclusion. Among the bacteria, the researchers cite E.coli, an intestinal bacteria that can cause gastroenteritis, urinary tract infections and meningitis, or even salmonella, one of the main culprits of food poisoning.
The study, supported by Continental Tires, estimates that 60% of motorists are totally unaware of the risks a dirty interior poses to passengers. However, this not very “clean” environment favors exposure to pathogenic bacteria. “Germs can easily spread in cars, especially if they are not cleaned often, that you eat in them and that you leave your food waste there”, explains to the daily Mail the Dr. Anne-Marie Krachler of the Institute of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases from the University of Birmingham.
Car seats are therefore added to the already long list of everyday places and accessories (bags, remote controls, desks, smartphone…) transformed into bacteriological jungles without knowing.
