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One more reason to ditch that tie

Infection Control Monitor, December 22, 2006

The British Medical Association has given physicians one more reason they can ditch their neckties: they are another source of possible infections.

Earlier this year, the association urged its members to shun the neckware as they are rarely cleaned and could harbor disease-causing bacteria. Physicians should stop wearing ties to help combat hospital superbugs, such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, reported the BBC News.

"Ties are frequently handled but infrequently washed which means they can spread infection," said an association spokesman. "Doctors should not have to wear them when seeing patients."

The danger was first reported after a New York Hospital Queens team found nearly half of the ties worn by medical workers were contaminated with bacteria. Medical workers need to consider the potential for ties to transmit bacteria to patients, researchers said.

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