Viruses in Hotel Rooms

While a hotel can often be thought of as an oasis away from home, new research presented at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy shows that hotel rooms can serve as a reservoir of a virus that can cause the common cold. Rhinoviruses are the most common infecting agent in humans. They account for the majority of common colds. They can be spread by skin-to-skin contact when someone who is infected shakes hands with another person. With the virus now on the skin, it is then easily spread to the face and nasal area, causing infection of the upper respiratory tract. The researchers conducted a two-part study. In the first, 15 volunteers with colds stayed on a hotel room overnight. The subjects were asked remember 10 objects that they had touched. Laboratory testing showed that nearly 1 in 3 objects touched tested positive for the virus. In the second part of the study, which was conducted many months later, 5 of the same participants were asked to once again stay in a hotel room. Prior to the person inhabiting the room, the researchers contaminated many of the room?s objects with the virus that was previously obtained from the patient and stored for many months. Because the subject already had the infection, they had developed immunity towards it and there was not risk of getting a recurrent infection. After using the equipment, the participants? hands were cultured. After being exposed to objects that had been contaminated for one day, the virus was cultured from the surface of one third of subjects. The research shows that viruses can live of surfaces for a period of time. Travelers need to use frequent hand-washing after coming into contact with common hotel-room items as may serve as reservoirs of infection.