Study finds T has trillions of germs—but there’s nothing to fear
There are trillions of germs on the your T-ride home, but they are no more likely to harm you than germs in any other public place, according to a Harvard study published Tuesday.
Researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health took samples on the MBTA from multiple surfaces, including subway straps, seats, poles, and outdoor CharlieCard machines, in order to see how many and what types of bugs are living on each surface, and if any of the surfaces contain more microbes than others.
The study found the microorganisms showed no greater resistance to antibiotics than most other germs.
“Overall, the Boston subway has minimal levels of antibiotic resistance and virulence factors,” the study says.
Some surfaces did carry more and different types of microorganisms than others. The study found subway straps had a higher number of bugs similar to what you’d find on the average person’s skin and hair.
Researchers said seats and chairs also carried bugs transferred from a person’s skin, and found only small amounts of the organisms that are typically found in a person’s digestive track or mouth on the MBTA surfaces swabbed for the study.
MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo pointed his comment to a statement from the study’s lead author and Harvard professor Curtis Huttenhower.
“What they collected was no more virulent than what you would be exposed to shaking a person’s hand,” Huttenhower told the The Boston Globe.
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