Traces of ‘human and animal faeces’ have been found on Tube seats (Picture: Getty)

More than five million people travel on the Underground every day, so you’d expect the trains to be cleaned somewhat regularly right…?

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Especially after Metro.co.uk revealed earlier this year that seats on the District, Jubilee, Northern, Circle, Piccadilly, Metropolitan and Hammersmith and City lines are never shampooed.

And the only lines where seats do get a wash are the Bakerloo, Victoria and Central (and even then it only happens every six months to a year).

Well now, someone’s gone and actually taken swab samples on The Tube and made some pretty nasty discoveries.


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The research, carried out by carpet cleaning experts BISSELL on the Bakerloo line, revealed a large presence of the bacteria E.Coli, which is found in human and animal faeces, on tube seats.

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Not a nice thought when you consider how many people eat their breakfast on their morning commute.



Other swabs taken from emergency doors and side handles showed reasonable levels of bacteria while samples from window frames revealed varying levels, including Enterobacteriaceae.

Enterobacteriaceae comes from a large family of bacteria which includes the more familiar pathogens such as Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus which is found on the skin of around 35% of the population and in septic cuts, noses and throats.

Totally gross (Picture: Bissell)

According to the research, the presence of E coli may have appeared because of commuters not washing their hands properly after using the toilet or from pets having little accidents whilst travelling.

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With the results indicating a lack of cleanliness on the underground, passengers could be picking up bacteria and viruses left behind by previous travellers causing colds, vomiting and diarrhoea.

Hygiene expert Dr Lisa Ackerley told Metro.co.uk: ‘Bacteria are everywhere and most of them are completely harmless, if not beneficial.

‘However, there are some bacteria and viruses that we need to avoid, and it is particularly disturbing that E. coli was found on a seat.

Around 1.37 billion passengers use the tube each year (Picture: Getty)

‘If you sit on public transport eating food and licking your fingers, and those fingers have just been touching dirty seats and windows, then you could be in for an unpleasant surprise.

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‘People often think it is the last thing they ate that made them ill, but in fact it could be contamination they picked up on their hands.’

With 1.37 billion passengers using the tube each year, it’s easy for some levels of bacteria to exist as commuters squeeze onto packed trains with coughing, sneezing and pet related accidents all common.

Though it’s hard to completely isolate yourselves from the germs, Dr Lisa Ackerley has some tips on how you can ensure good hygiene when travelling:

Tips on ensuring good hygiene while you're travelling 1. Wash your hands as soon as you can after travelling or use a hand gel if you’re taking a particularly long commute 2. Avoid rubbing or touching your eyes as this can cause you to infect yourself with cold or flu viruses 3. Don’t eat on the tube – think about where your hands have been and where they are going! 4. If you’ve placed your bag on a seat or the floor don’t plonk it on your kitchen worktop when you get home as this will spread bacteria to areas where you’re going to be preparin food, yuk! 5. Keep your home clean by regularly washing carpets and leaving shoes by the door so that you aren’t treading harmful microbes around the house

Nigel Holness, London Underground’s Director of Network Operations, told Metro.co.uk: ‘We are committed to providing the best possible service on London’s transport network.

‘Each Tube line has a rigorous cleaning schedule in place, for both the interior and exterior of the trains, to provide a pleasant environment for our customers.’

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