TELEPHONES AND GERMS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22179, 5 August 1935, Page 6

TELEPHONES AND GERMS

PRECAUTIONS IN SYDNEY STERILISATION EVERY WEEK The Acting-Deputy of Posts and Telegraphs in New bouth Wales, Mr. V. E. Butler, said in Sydney recently that public telephones were not a source of infection, many tests during periods of influenza epidemics in Australia and in other parts of the world had definitely proved that the mouthpieces of telephones were not germ earners. Mr. Butler was replying to a correspondent of the Sydney Morning Herald, who said he would not go intfl a public telephone box after be had heard a person speaking on the telephone say that he was "no doabt developing ? flu." The writer of the letter suggested that the Postal Department should provide a disinfectant mask to fit over the mouthpiece of the telephones. , Mr. Butler said that all public telephones were sterilised at least once s week, the Postal Department having let a contract years ago to a company that used a powerful disinfectant. The manager of the company said that a staff of girls went round once a week to thousands of private and public telephones in Sydney, and after washing out the mouthpiece and ear parts applied an antiseptic paste which was claimed to be 2000 times stronger than carbolic, and which remained effective for a week.