Mobile phones may carry your ‘bacterial fingerprint’

Biologists at the University of Oregon have found that 82% of common bacteria on people’s hands were also found on their phones.

More than 80% of the common bacteria that make up our personal bacterial “fingerprints” end up on their screens, a study suggests.

Personal possessions, such as phones, might be useful for tracking the spread of bacteria, they report in PeerJ.

They reflect our microbiome – the trillions of different micro-organisms that live in and on our bodies.

Mobile phone users have been found to touch their devices on average 150 times a day.

Scientists have found an overlap between the collection of micro-organisms naturally present on our bodies and those on the screens of smartphones.

They say this could one day be used to track people’s exposure to bacteria.

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