Fuel nozzle handles a breeding ground for bacteria and viruses, says expert | Herald Sun.
FUELLING your car could be making you sick - and not because of the expense. A cleaning products manufacturer says fuel nozzle handles are fertile breeding grounds for bacteria and viruses - worse than mailboxes, escalator rails, parking meters and traffic light pedestrian buttons. Infectious diseases expert Flavia Huygens, an associate professor at the Queensland University of Technology, warned fuel pump handles could harbour a dangerous superbug, the methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). "Another study in Japan on public transport in trains isolated and identified MRSA. It's pretty dangerous because it's highly resistant to antibiotic therapy," she said. Ms Huygens said the bug could lurk in public areas that people touched: "It's highly likely with fuel pumps, because this superbug is transmitted by skin contact and hand-to-mouth contact." Motorists are advised to wash their hands after using a fuel pump.
