Doctors' neckties carry bacteria: study

Patients may want their doctors to look professional and tidy, but a new study says neckties worn by medical practitioners may actually harbour disease.

Researchers at a New York hospital say nearly half the neckties worn by medical workers are contaminated with bacteria that could pose health risks to patients.

Researchers at the New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens compared ties worn by doctors, their assistants and medical students with ties worn by hospital security staff.

The ties worn by medical workers were eight times more likely to carry bacteria than those worn by the security guards.

Doctors who touch their neckties between hand scrubbings may contribute to the transfer of bacteria. A tie could also pick up germs when brushed up against a patient, the study found.

"During the physical examination and treatment of patients, these neckties may become colonized by pathogens," the study says.

The most common germ cited in the study was Staphylococcus aureus. Found on one-third of the neckties worn by clinicians studied, the bacteria can cause food poisoning and toxic shock.

"Although wearing a necktie may project a certain professionalism by the clinician that may increase patient confidence, it may also be accompanied by potential risks," says the study, which was released Monday at a meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.