Expert: You won’t get the flu by touching stuff – Futurity: Research News

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Youre unlikely to get the flu from touching a surface, explains microbiologist Emanuel Goldman.

In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, we thought the coronavirus was everywherestuck to our cellphone screens, smeared on our mail, dangling from doorknobs, even clinging to our cereal boxes. But it wasnt.

Despite public health guidance suggesting surfaces be disinfected to stop the spread of COVID-19, the virus wasnt significantly transmitted through inanimate surfaces and objects, what microbiologists call fomites. As with all respiratory virusesfrom the flu to the common coldtransmission was and remains almost exclusively airborne.

Goldman, a professor of microbiology at the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, was among the first scientists to challenge conventional wisdom by warning that hygiene theateroverzealous disinfection of surfaceshad become counterproductive for public health. In April 2021, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) agreed.

Goldman is once again sounding the virus alarm. His recent work delves deeper into laboratory testing failures and advocates for a science-based path out of the pandemic. He will present his findings at a respiratory disease conference in December in New York.

Here, he answers questions about fomites and why we still need to wash our hands:

Original Study DOI: 10.1128/AEM.01371-21

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Expert: You won't get the flu by touching stuff - Futurity: Research News