Study finds bacteria on most cellphones

LONDON, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- One in six cellphones in Britain contains traces of E. coli bacteria because people are not diligent about washing their hands, a study found.

Researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine who sampled hands and phones of people in 12 cities across Britain say about 16 percent were contaminated with E. coli, The Daily Telegraph reported Friday.

Twenty-five percent of the phones sampled carried Staphylococcus aureus, naturally present in skin but potentially dangerous if transferred between people, researchers said.

In all, 92 percent of cellphones and 82 percent of hands tested had some traces of bacteria, the study found.

"We found a direct link between how dirty your hands were and how dirty your phone was ... . If people did wash their hands properly with soap this link would not exist," Dr. Ron Cutler, who headed the study, said.