“Researchers analyzed swabs taken from 42 neckties worn by physicians and medical staff as well as 10 neckties from security staff at the medical center. The swabs were cultured on laboratory plates and analyzed for the growth of microorganisms. Of the 42 neckties belonging to the physicians and medical staff, 20 contained dangerous bacteria that can cause pneumonia, urinary tract infections, blood infections and other illnesses.”
smays.com
A place where I publish what I notice.
I posted this in 2004 without attribution. I asked Claude if it could find the source.
Claude: It’s Steven Nurkin’s study, presented May 24, 2004 at the 104th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in New Orleans — not published as a peer-reviewed paper, just a conference presentation/abstract.
The study was conducted at New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens, and found that nearly half (47.6%) of neckties worn by clinicians harbored potential disease-causing bacteria, comparing 42 ties worn by doctors, physician assistants and medical students against 10 ties worn by hospital security personnel. One in four ties carried S. aureus, and one in eight carried other hospital-acquired bacteria.