You might want to add "clean the computer keyboard" to your daily chores, based on a new study.

The study, published in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, comes from William Rutala, PhD, MPH, and colleagues at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill.

Rutala's team tested 25 computer keyboards from UNC's Health Care System for bacteria. The researchers also placed bacteria on several laptop computers and tried to remove those bacteria with various disinfectants.

The bottom line: The keyboards were home to several sorts of bacteria, and cleaning helped.

"Our data suggest that microbial contamination of keyboards is prevalent and that keyboards may be successfully decontaminated with disinfectants," the researchers write.

What's on That Keyboard?

The researchers tested 25 computer keyboards from UNC's burn intensive care unit, cardiothoracic intensive care unit, and six nursing units housing patients receiving short-term care.

Rutala's team found two or more microorganisms on all of the computer keyboards. For instance, all of those keyboards tested positive for a type of staph bacterium (coagulase-negative staphylococci), which is one of the most common causes of bloodstream infections in hospitalized patients. Diphtheroids were found on 80% of the keyboards. Cancer, AIDS, and other patients in the hospital whose immune system is weak are at high risk for infections from diphtheroids.

Remember, those keyboards came from a hospital. Your home or office might not have the same set of bacteria. However, another study released in February by other researchers showed various bacteria in the workspaces of teachers, accountants, bankers, and other professionals.