Do library books make you want to wash your hands?

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iamnotaparakeet
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29 Jan 2011, 11:56 pm

Who_Am_I wrote:

iamnotaparakeet wrote:

Who_Am_I wrote:

iamnotaparakeet wrote:

Who_Am_I wrote:

Immune system.
Mine works.

And what happens if a person with a communicable disease, such as HIV, handled a book that you later handled? What's the probability of transference?

I couldn't say offhand, but I'd imagine that the chances would be about the same as catching HIV from a toilet seat, which, as I understand it, are low.
What if someone sick sat on a park bench that I rested my hands on while sitting on it? What if someone coughs on me on the train?
I'm not going to stop doing things that I enjoy, such as going to parks, catching trains and reading books that I can't afford to buy, just because of some small risk of illness.

Stopping? Not saying to do that. However, I still find it disconcerting to think of how easily any disease can spread within a city.

Do you know of any citywide or larger epidemics that could be realistically traced back to germs transmitted via library books?

No, and since I don't know there is therefore no probability of pathogen transfer?

Who_Am_I
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30 Jan 2011, 12:05 am

iamnotaparakeet wrote:

Who_Am_I wrote:

iamnotaparakeet wrote:

Who_Am_I wrote:

iamnotaparakeet wrote:

Who_Am_I wrote:

Immune system.
Mine works.

And what happens if a person with a communicable disease, such as HIV, handled a book that you later handled? What's the probability of transference?

Stopping? Not saying to do that. However, I still find it disconcerting to think of how easily any disease can spread within a city.

Do you know of any citywide or larger epidemics that could be realistically traced back to germs transmitted via library books?

No, and since I don't know there is therefore no probability of pathogen transfer?

That's not what I'm saying at all; what I'm saying is that since it is so rarely recorded, at least as far as both of us know, then the probability of widespread infection would seem to be low.
I would think that pathogen transfer would be likely, since microorganisms are tough little things, but not likely in high enough numbers to cause widespread illness.

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Jediscraps
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30 Jan 2011, 12:09 am

I'm more worried about fines. I seem to have a hard time remembering to return the books.

iamnotaparakeet
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30 Jan 2011, 12:19 am

Jediscraps wrote:

I'm more worried about fines. I seem to have a hard time remembering to return the books.

That's one reason I prefer to buy any books I read: I have all the time I need to read them. If I have a deadline to keep, my goal shifts from reading to merely making sure the deadline is kept.

arielhawksquill
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30 Jan 2011, 11:35 am

iamnotaparakeet wrote:

Who_Am_I wrote:

Immune system.
Mine works.

And what happens if a person with a communicable disease, such as HIV, handled a book that you later handled? What's the probability of transference?

The probability of transference is zero. The HIV virus cannot live outside the body, which is why it can only be transmitted through sexual contact or blood transfusion/shared needles. You can't catch HIV from an infected person by shaking hands with them or breathing the same air, much less from reading a library book they have handled.

b9
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