{"id":123867,"date":"2026-03-11T05:13:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T09:13:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/expert-sounds-alarm-after-study-finds-popular-travel-item-carries-far-more-bacteria-than-expected-123867"},"modified":"2026-03-11T05:13:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T09:13:02","slug":"expert-sounds-alarm-after-study-finds-popular-travel-item-carries-far-more-bacteria-than-expected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/expert-sounds-alarm-after-study-finds-popular-travel-item-carries-far-more-bacteria-than-expected-123867","title":{"rendered":"Expert sounds alarm after study finds popular travel item carries far more bacteria than expected"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The dirtiest item you carry with you while you’re traveling<\/a> may not be what you think.<\/p>\n

A controlled lab experiment commissioned by Japan Rail Pass provider JRPass<\/a> found that one frequently handled travel essential contained significantly more bacteria than shoes, luggage or even cell phones do.<\/p>\n

Researchers swabbed several common travel items, then incubated the samples to measure bacterial growth in colony-forming units (CFUs).<\/p>\n

MAJOR AIRLINE REPORTEDLY CONSIDERS DELUXE CLEANING FOR PREMIUM SEATS ONLY<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The results showed that passports \u2014 far exceeding every other item tested \u2014 contained 436 CFUs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Checked baggage ranked second in the study with 97 CFUs, followed by shoes at 65, hand-held luggage at 56, phones at 45 \u2014 and coats at 15, according to the test.<\/p>\n

Primrose Freestone, Ph.D., an associate professor of clinical microbiology at the University of Leicester and a microbiology advisor for BBC Radio Leicester, said frequent handling can increase bacterial buildup<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The human hand already carries normal bacteria \u2014 but when people touch things in crowded places like airports<\/a>, they also pick up microbes left behind by numerous other travelers, Freestone noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“The greater the handling of a passport by different people\u2019s hands, the more and greater the variety of bacteria, fungi and even viruses<\/a> will be deposited onto the surface,” she said about the JRPass findings, as reported by Travel + Leisure and other outlets.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Freestone said the findings should serve as a strong reminder for people to be mindful of hygiene<\/a> while traveling.<\/p>\n

Airports and public transportation hubs are high-contact environments.\u00a0<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE STORIES<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Travelers frequently touch shared surfaces such as check-in kiosks, security bins, handrails and luggage handles.<\/p>\n

To reduce exposure, Freestone recommended that people wash their hands thoroughly<\/a> whenever possible, or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer after handling travel documents and other shared surfaces.<\/p>\n

“Washing hands thoroughly with soap and water, or using an alcohol-based gel, is one of the simplest and most effective ways to reduce potential exposure<\/a>,” Freestone said.<\/p>\n

She also advised wiping down high-touch personal items, including passports, phones and luggage handles, before and after trips.<\/p>\n

“Clothing naturally collects microbes from our skin and the environments we move through. Immediately changing out of airport outfits and washing them after travel<\/a> can help prevent those microbes [from] being transferred onto furniture, bedding and household surfaces.”<\/p>\n

TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

While bacteria are a normal part of everyday life, being aware of how easily they transfer from item to item during travel can help reduce unnecessary exposure, she also indicated.\u00a0<\/p>\n

JRPass also said on Instagram<\/a> about its study, “Moral of the story? Wash your hands. Wipe your passport. Maybe stop eating fries immediately after check-in.”<\/p>\n

Other items called out by experts for attracting an undue amount of dirt and germs include the seatback pockets on airplanes, plus seat belts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Freestone also recently commented on another common item that attracts far more dirt and germs than people think.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She said people should change their kitchen sponges on a daily basis.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“How often you clean your kitchen sponge depends on what you have been using the sponge for,”\u00a0the expert told The Daily Mail.<\/p>\n

“If [it’s] for something likely to be germ-ridden, such as dirty vegetables or raw meat or fish<\/a>, then I dispose of these after a single use \u2014 as it is not easy to clean all microbes off a kitchen sponge.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source – https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/travel\/expert-sounds-alarm-after-study-finds-popular-travel-item-carries-far-more-bacteria-than-expected <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The dirtiest item you carry with you while you’re traveling may not be what you think. A controlled lab experiment commissioned by Japan Rail Pass […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_2902945987_2902945987":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[16563],"tags":[],"stock_ticker":[],"class_list":["post-123867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-market-news","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nExpert sounds alarm after study finds popular travel item carries far more bacteria than expected - Wall Street PR<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/expert-sounds-alarm-after-study-finds-popular-travel-item-carries-far-more-bacteria-than-expected-123867\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Expert sounds alarm after study finds popular travel item carries far more bacteria than expected - Wall Street PR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The dirtiest item you carry with you while you’re traveling may not be what you think. 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