Tej Kohli was actually taken back to see this report on web. According to a British microbiologist, office computer keyboards could be filthier than toilet seats and cause serious diseases.

Read the entire report below on Tej Kohli Bravenet Blog:

Some computer keyboards harbour more harmful bacteria than a toilet seat, research has suggested.

Tests were conducted on 33 office keyboards and compared with swabs from a toilet seat and a door handle in a public toilet. It was found that the keyboards contained dangerous levels of killer bacteria such as E coli and S aureus. E coli causes diarrhoea, stomach cramps and fever, while S aureus causes skin infections such as pimples, boils and abscesses.

Microbiologist Dr Peter Wilson said a keyboard was often "a reflection of what is in your nose and in your gut".

During the Which? tests in January this year, a microbiologist deemed one of the office's keyboards to be so dirty he ordered it to be removed, quarantined and cleaned.

It had 150 times the recommended limit for bacteria - five times as filthy as a lavatory seat tested at the same time, the research found.

The equipment was swabbed for bugs, such as those that can cause food poisoning like E.coli and staphylococcus aureus.

Dr Wilson, a consultant microbiologist at University College London Hospital, told BBC Radio 5 Live sharing a keyboard could be passing on illnesses among office workers.

"If you look at what grows on computer keyboards, and hospitals are worse, believe it or not, it's more or less a reflection of what's in your nose and in your gut," he said.

"Should somebody have a cold in your office, or even have gastroenteritis, you're very likely to pick it up from a keyboard."

Which? said one of the causes of dirty keyboards was users eating lunch at their desk, with crumbs encouraging the growth of bacteria.

Poor personal hygiene, such as not washing hands after going to the toilet, could also be to blame, it said.

Holy cramolee - the things you don't know! I had no idea that keyboards could get that filthy; the idea of having to quarantine a keyboard because of such dangerous bacteria levels blows my mind...

Thanks for posting this, Tej. This is really important information more people need to know about...

Sorry about that - don't know why I came up as "Anonymous"...