ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

A hospital board is urging people to wash their hands in soap and water after a trip to the supermarket.

The Swansea Bay University Health Board claims the frequently-touched handles of supermarket trolleys could harbour the norovirus. It is urging everyone to clean their hands thoroughly after a visit to busy facilities such as supermarkets and hospitals.

The warning comes after 75 Swansea hospital patients became infected with the illness over a two-week period. Good hand hygiene is essential to curb the spread of the illness according to Swansea health board matron Joanne Walters.

"This is particularly the case after going to the loo, before and after eating and after touching items that lots of other people have touched such as shopping trolleys, door handles and TV remote controls," she said. "And it is important to always use soap and water since hand sanitisers do not kill the norovirus."

The virus can be transmitted from person to person through close contact, via frequently-touched surfaces or by eating food that has been handled by someone else.

A study carried out by Online retailer ReuseThisBag.com in 2017 revealed that three-quarters of supermarket trolleys across a range of stores contained harmful bacteria including E. coli and salmonella.

And earlier this year (2019) it emerged that soap manufacturer LifeBuoy had developed a device specifically designed for cleaning shopping trolley handles. The Handle on Hygiene attaches to the trolley and leaves behind a layer of soap that cleans and disinfects the handle. The device is currently being trialled in supermarkets in the Middle East.