7 germiest public places

A recent study in the Journal of Medical Virology reported cold and flu viruses can survive for 18 hours on hard surfaces. In a popular restaurant, hundreds of people could be touching the menus, passing their germs to you - and the staff may or may not be wiping them down. Don't let a menu touch your pace or silverware, and wash your hands after you place your order.

Nearly 70 percent of the lemon wedges on the rims of restaurant glasses contain disease-causing microbes, according to a 2007 study in the Journal of Environmental Health. Researchers ordered drinks at 21 different restaurants and found 24 different microorganisms lingering on the 65 lemons they secured, including E. coli.

Fecal matter contaminates about 25 percent of public restroom dispensers. The containers are mostly never cleaned, so bacteria grows as the soap scum builds up, says Charles Gerba, a microbiologist. Gerba says these containers are never cleaned - and the same hands that touch derrieres are touching them, so there's a continuous culture feeding millions of bacteria. Scrub your hands thoroughly with plenty of hot water for 15 to 20 seconds and if you have hand sanitizer that is alcohol-based, use that also.

Surfaces inside the bathrooms of commercial jets were found to be contaminated with E. coli. And, you instantly become more suspetible to viruses and germs on a plane: You're 200 times more likely to catch a cold at this time, according to a recent study in the Journal of Environmental Health Research.

Restaurants are unlikely to regularly clean their condiment dispensers - and chances are the consumers using them aren't washing their hands. You may want to use hand sanitizer after using the ketchup or mustard on your table.

Fecal matter contaminates about 25 percent of public restroom dispensers. The containers are mostly never cleaned, so bacteria grows as the soap scum builds up, says Charles Gerba, a microbiologist. He says the containers, which are touched by people who just touched their derrieres, are rarely cleaned, so there's a continuous culture feeding millions of bacteria. Scrub your hands thoroughly with plenty of hot water for 15 to 20 seconds and if you have hand sanitizer that is alcohol-based, use that also.

A 2007 study from the University of Arizona found about two-thirds of grocery cart handles contained fecal matter. Eww! The study found the carts had more bacteria than restrooms. Next time you go shopping, wipe down the cart handle with a disinfectant wipe, which many stores are now offering.