Toting Bacteria

By Barbara Grijalva, KOLD News 13 Anchor
Posted: 8/22/05

Believe it or not, it's a woman's purse, at least the bottom of it.

Think about it.

We carry our purses everywhere, and we sometimes set them down in the worst places.

We went to a world-renowned germ expert to learn more about our purses, and how they get down and dirty.

It's a surprise to most of us what comes along for the ride on the bottoms of our purses.

University of Arizona Professor Charles Gerba says, "This is one of the most germy objects we've actually ever tested before...is the bottom of a purse."

And that's saying something.

Charles Gerba has seen it all after 35 years of studying the germs on everything from toilet seats to our hands.

His team at the University of Arizona took a random sampling of women's purses, swabbed the bottoms, and collected the germs there.

Once you look at the germs, you can only imagine where the purses have been.

Gerba says, "Remember, you're going outside. You're shopping. You're going to the restroom. You're going to the theater. Well, every time you put it down, you're picking up a germ. If I was a germ, I'd be looking for a purse all the time because you're going to take me home to your family. Most of these bacteria aren't going to make you ill, but there are some that could actually cause skin infections, colds and flus."

One particular purse caught Gerba's attention.

He says, "These kind of bacteria we most typically associate with your toilet and somebody probably laid their purse down in a stall in a restroom and then brought it home, and we found the organism right there. That's very common."

But that's not the worst of it.

Think about where women often set down their purses after spending the day out and about.

Many put them on the kitchen table or counter top.

Gerba says, "Then you might go home and put it right on your counter, next to your sink where you're going to make dinner."

It's difficult to know how often, if ever, our purses have made us sick.

But to be on the safe side, Gerba says, "I think it's unavoidable putting your purses down in places you really don't want to put them. From what we've seen in just this little study, it's probably a good idea to wipe these purses bottoms down with a disinfectant wipe once a day."

Gerba says the majority of us who are in good health probably won't have a problem from toting bacteria.

He says those who should be careful are, what he calls, our growing sensitive population.

Gerba says that's about one-quarter of Americans, including pregnant women, babies, and people who have weakened immune systems, such as chemotherapy patients.

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click here for: 38 sec NBC News Germy Purse video