Someone in your house have the sniffles? Watch out for the refrigerator door handle. The TV remote, too. A new study finds that cold sufferers often leave their germs there, where they can live for two days or longer. Scientists at the University of Virginia, long known for its virology research, tested surfaces in the homes of people with colds and reported the results Tuesday at the nation's premier conference on infectious diseases.

Doctors don't know how often people catch colds from touching germy surfaces as opposed to, say, shaking a sick person's hand, said Dr. Birgit Winther, an ear, nose and throat specialist who helped conduct the study.

Two years ago, she and other doctors showed that germs survived in hotel rooms a day after guests left, waiting to be picked up by the next person checking in.

For the new study, researchers started with 30 adults showing early symptoms of colds. Sixteen tested positive for rhinovirus, which causes about half of all colds. They were asked to name 10 places in their homes they had touched in the preceding 18 hours, and researchers used DNA tests to hunt for rhinovirus.

"We found that commonly touched areas like refrigerator doors and handles were positive about 40 percent of the time" for cold germs, Winther said.

All three of the salt and pepper shakers they tested were contaminated. Other spots found to harbor the germ: 6 out of 18 doorknobs; 8 of 14 refrigerator handles; 3 of 13 light switches; 6 of 10 remote controls; 8 of 10 bathroom faucets; 4 of 7 phones, and 3 of 4 dishwasher handles.

Next, the researchers deliberately contaminated surfaces with participants' mucus and then tested to see whether rhinovirus stuck to their fingers when they turned on lights, answered the phone or did other common tasks. More than half of the participants got the virus on their fingertips 48 hours after the mucus was smeared.

The study was sponsored by Reckitt-Benckiser Inc., makers of Lysol, but no products were tested in the research. The study, designed by doctors with no ties to the company, was an effort to lay the groundwork for future research on germs and ways to get rid of them.

In a separate study, the university's Drs. Diane Pappas and Owen Hendley went germ-hunting on toys in the offices of five pediatricians in Fairfax, Va., three times during last year's cold and flu season.

Tests showed fragments of cold viruses on 20 percent of all toys tested — 20 percent of those in the "sick child" waiting room, 17 percent in the "well child" waiting room, and 30 percent in a sack of toys that kids are allowed to choose from after being good for a shot.

"Mamas know this," Hendley said. "They say, `We go to a doctor for a well-child checkup, the kids play with the toys and two days later they have a cold.'"

There is no proof that the remnants themselves can infect, but their presence suggests a risk, said Dr. Paul Auwaerter, an infectious-diseases specialist at Johns Hopkins University. He was familiar with the study but had no role in it.

Doctors have long advised frequent hand-washing to avoid spreading germs. Wearing surgical masks and using hand sanitizers also can help, a novel University of Michigan study found.

About 1,000 students who live in dorms tested these measures for six weeks during the 2006-07 flu season. They were divided into three groups: those who wore masks, those who wore masks and used hand sanitizer, and those who did neither.

The two groups who used masks reported 10 percent to 50 percent fewer cold symptoms — cough, fever, chills — than the group who used no prevention measures.

Researchers note that the study was not "blinded" — everyone knew who was doing what, and mask wearers may have been less likely to report cold symptoms later because they believed they were taking steps to reduce that possibility.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention paid for the study.

The conference was a joint meeting of the American Society for Microbiology and the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

有人在你的屋里打喷嚏？注意你的冰箱门把手，电视的遥控器也需要关注，一项最新的研究发现，感冒者通常会把细菌留在这些地方，在这里这些细菌可以存活1-2天的时间，弗吉尼亚大学的科学家，长期以来因为微生物学的研究闻名，测试感冒患者家里的可触表面并在上周二的国家感染疾病首席会议上提出测验结果。

“医生不知道人们通过触摸这些带菌表面而感染疾病的频率，比如和一个病人握手”Dr Birgit Wintehr，一个耳，鼻，喉专家，也是本次试验研究的负责人。

两年前，她和其他的医生曾经证明细菌在酒店房间里面能够在客户离开之后的1-2天内继续存活，直到他们找到下一个入住的客人。

作为一项新的研究，研究人员从30个有早期感冒症状的人开始。其中的16人被证明确实染病，但是却导致半数以上的人染病，他们被要求说出他们曾经在屋里18个小时前接触的地方，研究人员通过DNA测试来捕捉这些病菌。

“我们发现，被广泛接触的地方，比如说冰箱门，把手，在40%的可能性被感冒细菌利用”Winther说

所有的三个盐，以及辣椒粉的容器都被证明是被污染的，其他的地方也被证明是病毒的港湾，6/18的门把手，8/14的冰箱扶手，3/13的电灯开关，6/10的遥控器，8/10的水龙头，4/7的电话和3/4的洗碗机扶手。

下一步，研究故意的奖这些物体的表面带菌，然后测试当开灯，应答电话或者日常其他的一些活动的时候病菌是否会传递，超过半数的人感染了病毒，而此时细菌已经在这些表面存活了两天了。

这项研究由Rechitt-Benchised.Inc公司赞助，同时他们也是Lysol消毒剂的生产厂商，但是在这项测试中没有任何产品被测试。这项研究，由医生主持设计，和这家公司没有任何关系，是一项未来对于细菌和摆脱细菌的深入研究的第一步工作。

另外一项并列的研究，由弗吉尼亚大学的Diane Pappas博士和Owen Hendley博士展开，主要研究玩具商细菌的传播，同样还有另外5名儿科以上参与，去年三次明显的流感季度进行了试验。 试验表明，感冒细菌的碎片在20%的玩具上被检测到，20%的病菌在病人候诊室发现，17%在普通候诊室发现，一袋玩具中有30%，这袋玩具则通常是当孩子在打针时好好表现后的奖励。

“妈妈们知道这一点”Hendley说“他们通常说，我们会找一个医生进行惯例的检查，但是这些孩子在玩过这些玩具两天之后却得了感冒”

并没有证据说残留物会导致感染，但是他们的存在证明是一个风险，Paul Auwaerter来自Johns Hopkins大学的传染病学博士这样说。他对于这项研究非常了解，但是并不是其中的一分子。

医生长久以来一直建议经常洗手来让病毒减少传播。一项又密歇根大学的研究表明，带口罩和洗手液同样会有帮助。1000名宿舍生活的学生经过在2006-2007年的流感季节中进行了测试，他们被划分为3组，带面具组，使用洗手液组，和不采用任何防范措施组

面具组中感冒症状，咳嗽，发烧，打颤比没有防范组少10%-50%。研究者说，这项研究并不是盲目测试，每个受测者都知道他们在做什么，带面具者很少有感冒症状，因为他们相信他们采用了防范的措施减少这一概率

联邦疾病防治中心为这次试验买单，这次会议是美国微生物协会（American Society for Microbiology）和疾病感染协会（Infectious Diseases Society of America.）联合举办