YOUR SAY: Do you think a man’s beard has more germs than dogs fur?
Professors with Switzerland’s Hirslanden Clinic discovered men with beards have more germs in their hairs than dogs carry in their fur. Researchers took swabs from beards of 18 men, ages 18 to 76, and the necks of 30 dogs.
Nearly half had bugs and bacteria considered hazardous to human health, the Daily Mail reports. The dogs tested had lower levels of microbes, a bacterium that causes disease.
Professor Andreas Gutzeit, of Switzerland’s Hirslanden Clinic, told the Daily Mail, “The researchers found a significantly higher bacterial load in specimens taken from the men’s beards compared with the dogs’ fur.’ The study found all of the bearded men, aged from 18 to 76, showed high microbial counts, but only 23 out of 30 dogs had high counts. The remainder had moderate levels.”
Gutzeit also said on the basis of these findings, dogs can be considered as clean compared with bearded men.
