BrainStuff Classics: Can Used Books Spread Germs?

between two covers. When Gutenberg introduced the printing press in fourteen fifty, books became objects of extraordinary wonder that would change the world. Throughout the centuries, These fascinating, tactile objects educated and amused, instructed and advised, and curled up with

us on rainy nights, sparking our imaginations. In eighteenth century America, lending libraries became egalitarian sanctuaries of knowledge, where farmers and financiers alike could access for free all the mysteries of the world. But in our current virtual, ephemeral, device driven culture, books have become marginalized clutter. Sometimes casually thrown away. Books, just like the rest of us, can end up in

some truly grungy places. In some cases, Bona fide treasures have literally been tossed into garbage bins and kicked to the curb a couple of cases in Point in Vancouver, British Columbia. In twenty seventeen, a homeless man salvaged four rough condition eighteen seventies Moroccan leather books from an alleyway

trash heap. Turns out, the four volumes, titled The Far East, consists of twenty four issues of a rare English language news magazine published in Shanghai, China, between eighteen seventy and eighteen seventy eight. Back in two thousand and nine, Suthebee's in London auctioned one hundred and eighteen issues of the same periodical, with one hundred and twelve original album in prints, the largest collection to surface on the market in thirty years,

for over forty two thousand dollars. Don Stewart, a veteran bookseller and the owner of renowned mclloyd's Books in downtown Vancouver, who who purchased the volumes for an undisclosed amount, said it's the best thing ever to come out of the garbage that I've ever encountered. And then in Ankara, Turkey, over a period of time, sanitation workers in the Turkish capital collected thousands of discarded books while making their garbage pickups.

Instead of abandoning them to landfills, these thoughtful, curious stewards of knowledge rescued the books and compiled a library that now houses six thousand volumes in every imaginable genre. Originally, the library was set up only for the sanitation workers and their families, but as words spread, people began to donate cast off books, and the library opened to the

public in September of twenty seventeen. Now a vital part of the community, the library is located in an old brick building at the headquarters of the city's sanitation department. The collection of salvaged volumes has grown so large that the library now loans books to schools, various educational programs, and prisons. These books, like any used books, may carry the stains and abrasions of their former experiences, including generations

of people handling them. But as much as books may impact us, how much of an impact do we leave on books. Let's skip over to Los Angeles in twenty seventeen. Sick at home with the flu Chyanne dabert A sixteen year old high school sophomore wondered if she was getting contagious germs all over the library books she was reading, and then began to wonder if library books in general

might be potential carriers of infectious disease. So she created an award winning international Science Fair project to find out. With the help of local librarians, she chose popular books that were checked out often and rubbed methodically taken swabs from each book onto four Petrie dishes per book. Two of the dishes contained agar, a substance that bacteria thrive upon, and two of the dishes contained methylene blue, a chemical

that thwarts the growth of certain bacteria while enabling others. Next, she put the plates in an oven at body temperature to find out how many microbial colonies were present and guess what, fearless library cardholders. Not much bacteria was present on the books she tested, and none of the swabs exhibited E. Coli. With that in mind, say hello to formites. A formite is any non living object or substance capable of carrying infectious organisms, such as viruses or bacteria, and

transferring them from one individual to another. We spoke via email with Jesset Jacob, MD, an Associate professor of medicine and hospital epidemiologist at Emory University Hospital Midtown. He said that books and e readers can be considered formites, but quote the infection risk is very low. Asked if it's possible to get sick from touching a library book, for example, someone with the flu licked their finger to turn the pages, or sneezed or coughed on the book, Jacob said it's possible,

but unlikely. Influenza can survive on paper and cloth for less than twelve hours. It's usually the respiratory secretions that carry the highest burden virus, and it would not be expected on spit, so licking a finger and turning a page is less likely contagious than picking your nose and

then turning the page. Important safety tip, Jacob continued. Most respiratory viruses are transmitted by indirect contact, such as when a person touches an object think doorknobs and handles that has been contaminated and then inadvertently touches a mucous membrane such as the lining of the eyes, nose, and mouth. While bacteria can potentially be spread by books or tablets

in most people, it will not cause infection. Asked what kind of bacteria and viruses have the strongest survivability on paper, Jacob said gram positive bacteria such as strep and staff are better at persisting on surfaces in general, followed by viruses. Jacob suggests that because so many people are allergic to dust and mold, those are probably bigger problems than bacteria or viruses on books. He left us with this sage

advice good for shared books and any other objects. Clean your hands and avoid touching your face or mucous membranes with potentially contaminated fingers to avoid catching a virus. So, if you perchance regret tossing that once cherished, dog eared, pizza stained copy of whatever it was that first ignited your passions or awakened your sensibilities, but why not revisit another well loved copy by checking it out at your

local library. According to Jacob, the odds of it making you sick are quote very low, but with a pine, the odds of it making you happy are very very high. Today's episode is based on the article used books may be jermy, but they won't make you sick. On how stuffworks dot com, written by Kerry Tatrow. Brainstuff is production of iHeartRadio in partnership with how Stuffworks dot Com, and this episode was produced by Tristan McNeil and Tyler Klang.

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