Yahoo Lifestyle Plane filth: The dirtiest place on an airplane
Thought the toilet was the dirtiest place on the airplane? Think again.
CBS news in Dallas recently checked the cleanliness of two airplanes, with the results enough to make you squirm. Serratia, Proteus vulgaris and Enterobacter were just a few of the bacteria strands stowed away around passengers.
Reporter Ginger Allen randomly swabbed several areas on the planes and found filth on lavatory door handles and table trays.
"But the grossest of all came from right here ... in the seat pocket," Allen showed in her report.
It's enough to make you think twice where you put your mints, mobile phones and water bottles.
Fortunately, Dallas doctor Cedric Spak told CBS 11 that the bacteria it found on the airplanes are fairly normal and not harmful to a healthy person. To avoid airplane germs, Spak and other doctors advise travelers to wash their hands, use hand sanitizer and allow the air vents to blow above their seat.
"It is all kind of the same sort of bacteria that lives down underneath the belly button," Spak said. "Which means somebody was scratching their belly button, then scratching the tray table."
