Is a graduation handshake a risk factor for bacterial pathogens?
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| University of Maryland dean, Dr. E. Albert Reece, shakes hands during a graduation |
In all likelihood, many of us have just suffered through enjoyed sitting through a recent preschool, high school, college or medical school graduation. The astute readers of this blog probably noticed the alcohol hand rub dispensers on stage for use by the graduates prior to shaking their dean's hand. You also noticed how few graduates actually used the dispensers. Maybe they were nervous or rushed or were already wearing gloves to go with their graduation gowns...cool contact precautions.
So, should a dean worry about catching bad bugs from their students? According to a new study published in the Journal of School Nursing, there is very little risk of acquiring a bacterial pathogen during a brief hand shake. In the study, cultures were collected from school officials' hands before and immediately following graduation. From a sample of 5,209 hands, Staphylococcus aureus was separately detected on one pregraduation right hand, one postgraduation right hand (different strain), and one postgraduation left hand, while nonpathogenic bacteria were found on 93% of the hands. They estimate the acquisition risk as 0.019 pathogens acquired per handshake. Of course, the study didn't test for viral transmission, which to me is a bigger worry.
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