Winter is here. This means flu, running noses and those never ending coughs. As I am writing this piece, I am coughing and sneezing. Sometimes I see my cough on my screen and keyboard. I have always thought that this is a major healthy hazard and I have tried on many occasions to tell management that when someone has a cough or flu, the person is better off at home to avoid infecting the rest of the office but to no avail. Last winter, I had a never-ending cough and flu. I suspected there was a bug in the office but no one believed me. My keyboard is dusty and yesterday when I was cleaning it a lot of food particles fell off.

Thanks God it’s black; I am sure if it was a white keyboard it would be looking creamy by now. The point I am making here is that the office is a place where you can get all sorts of infections. We share toilets, cups, computers, food (at least us blacks) and many other things.
Did you see the report on Sky News that your computer keyboard could be dirtier than your toilet? OK maybe, the one at home and not the public toilets I see around Windhoek. According to Sky News, a study from Which? Computing has found some keyboards containing more bacteria than the average lavatory seat.
Researchers took swabs from 30 office keyboards and uncovered a cocktail of bugs that can cause infection and illness. I can relate to this, from time to time, I see cockroaches, spiders and ants coming out of my keyboard. According to Sky News, bugs can lead to skin infections and food poisoning.
According to the research, more and more people are eating at their desks and are transferring from hand to mouth all the time. That is making things worse.
The research also said telephones are also a problem. There are a lot of pathogenic disease-causing bacteria on telephones.
People should use alcohol wipes to really get rid of the germs. The best thing is to tip keyboards upside down and watch the crumbs fall out. Once that's gone the bacteria stops growing, Sky News said.
The researches said if people don't clean their keyboards regularly, they might as well eat lunch in the toilet.
“Contrary to some advice posted online though, office workers should not take their keyboards home and put them in the dishwasher,” the report said.
No wonder people are always sick in the office. So instead of spending money on doctors and medicine, clean up your keyboard and telephone, I am sure you will get fewer illnesses this winter.