It's Not the Bacterial Count, Stupid!

"These kinds of stories are irritating. It's always something: kids' toys, doorknobs, touch screens. These are all the same objects touched by people."
"Of course there will be human-associated bacteria on them. Washing  your hands more or less does the trick."
David Coil, microbiologist, University of California at Davis

"Our self-order screens are cleaned frequently throughout the day with a sanitizer solution."
"All of our restaurants also provide facilities for customers to wash their hands before eating."
McDonald's statement

"We were all surprised how much gut and fecal bacteria there was on the touchscreen machines. These cause the kind of infections that people pick up in hospitals."
"Touchscreen technology is being used more and more in our daily lives but these results show people should not eat food straight after touching them, they are unhygienic and can spread disease." "Someone can be very careful about their own hygiene throughout the day but it could all be undone by using a touchscreen machine once."
Dr. Paul Matewele, senior lecturer in microbiology, London Metropolitan University

Queuing to order  your food may be the safest option in avoiding harmful bacteria acquired from touchscreens. Photo: Bloomberg LP

Paul Matewele, a senior lecturer in microbiology at London Metropolitan University, undertook some interesting, but perhaps predictable research where  his team of researchers visited eleven McDonald's restaurant outlets in London and Birmingham to take swab samples from the chain's touch screens. Three weeks of tests followed, leading Dr. Matewele to discover ten types of bacteria, three of which are harmless, to be living on those touch screens.

Those bacteria present on the swabs taken from the touch screens that did cause some concern are coliforms associated with the human gut, along with enterococcus faecalis (from fecal matter) and enterobacter, which can be found in intestines; staphylococcus normally found in nasal passages; klebsiella found in the mouth or threat and finally; micrococcus which usually make their home on human skin.

These are bacteria capable of causing urinary tract infection, pneumonia, and septicemia in people who come in contact with them, who happen to have compromised immune systems. These bacteria are also known for their ability to cause infections that people typically can acquire when they are in a hospital setting. Dr. Matewele, specializing in microbiology and immunology clarified that many bacteria are not harmful; some indeed are useful residents of our immune system.

His intention in conducting the tests was not to point a finger of blame on fast food giant McDonald's, but rather to merely to raise awareness in the public, and most particularly among that demographic who regularly consume food at restaurants or other public places. And, as Dr. Coil points out -- unless it can be determined who touched the screens at McDonald's it remains impossible to determine how threatening those surfaces can be; whether in fact they're at all dangerous.


The bacteria that teem in uncountable numbers on McDonald's touch screens are those that live in the gut, intestines, nose, skin, mouth throat and stools while some live in soil and water. All humans host these types of bacteria, some harmless, others potential threats under certain circumstances. With the trillions of bacterial cells that humans carry both within and without our bodies, leaving some and acquiring others wherever we come in communication with objects other people touch, most are unlikely to do harm to a healthy body.

We touch objects that other people come in contact with continually on a daily basis, from doorknobs to elevator buttons, shopping carts, handrails, bus and subway stations, just about anywhere where people tend to frequent. And where most frequently encountered than in popular fast-food outlets? Apart from which there have never been public health reports linking infections caused by bacteria-infested touch screens at McDonald's or any other fast-food restaurants.

Of course, it's always a good idea to wash one's hands. It is why hospitals, where sick people tend to congregate and where bacterium are shed and picked up and infections often result with extended exposure, have those pumps with sanitizing liquid at the disposal of passersby. So use them wherever they are, including fastened to the walls at supermarkets.

If there is any reason to be leery of acquiring something deleterious to one's health at McDonald's or any other fast-food emporiums, it is unhealthy food choices, which when overindulged results in unhealthy consequences, leading eventually to poor nutritional uptake, overweight and obese bodies and the propensity for contracting chronic diseases like diabetes in turn leading to cardiovascular problems....

Photo: Susannah Ireland for Metro.co.uk