Men in north England have grubbier hands

United Kingdom, October 15: Men living in the northern part of England really need to move towards a healthier and cleaner lifestyle. A latest research has revealed that the more one moves towards north, the dirtier are the hands of men living there.

Specimens of men’s hands in Newcastle show that more than half of them were contaminated with bacteria that is normally found in faeces.

The pattern of uncleanliness fell with latitude. As per statistics, 34% of Liverpudlian men tested positive for faecal bacteria. This figure was 21% in Birmingham, 15% in Cardiff and 6% in London.

The latest findings have been gathered by scientists at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. This is a part of the study which dwells into the country’s hand washing habits.

The study was aimed to bring forth the facts about how various infections can be easily spread by people if they don’t follow basic rules of cleanliness.

For the study purposes, researchers took into account 409 commuters who were seen waiting at bus stops outside the main train stations across five cities. Then specimens of their hands were taken and tested in the laboratory for infection.

Val Curtis, Director of the school’s hygiene centre said, “When we first saw this north-south divide we scratched our heads. We thought it might be something to do with the way we did the tests, the weather, or the time it took to get the samples back to the lab, but the issue is with the men, not the women, so it must be a difference in behavior.”

Curtis further added, “The best I can think of is that men in the north are too tough to wash their hands. We need to investigate it more, it's puzzling.”

The bacteria which were prominently found in the tests were Entercoccus, Ecoli, Klebsiella and Panteoa. These were found in 28% of the samples that were tested.

Though these types of bacteria are not responsible for any serious infections, but their presence in such huge numbers has baffled scientists.

According to Curtis, his estimate of people with faecal bacteria on their hands was 5 to 10%. But the results show a far bigger number.

All figures boil down to one fact, and that is that people are not washing their hands after using the toilet. These people leave the bacteria wherever they go and other people pick them up from there.

But the statistics are far better as far as women are concerned. It was found that on an average 27% of women had faecal bacteria on their hands. The Londoners are the cleanest at 21%, while the Liverpudlians the dirtiest at 31%.

The study has been deliberately coincided with Global Handwashing Day. This is an event aimed at promoting hand washing with soap so that risk of diarrhoea and other infections can be minimized in developing countries.

Curtis strongly sent a message across to the people by saying, “Just rinsing your hands under the tap doesn’t remove bacteria because they tend to get stuck in any dirt and grease you’ve got on your hands.”

The study also revealed that people who travelled by the bus were almost twice as likely to test positive for faecal bacteria as train commuters.

The annual norovirus season has already begun in the country with many cases already being reported. In the UK, norovirus is the main reason for gastrointestinal diseases. It affects about a million people in the country every year.