Tough Love

Play areas: When out in public, playgrounds hold the greatest amount of germs than any other area -including lavatories. Most contain salmonella, Shigella, hepatitis A and noroviruses (a group of viruses that cause gastroenteritis), in people. For example the Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is found in the stool (faeces) of a person who has hepatitis A. The virus is spread most commonly when people put food or objects contaminated with stool containing HAV into their mouths. You can become infected with HAV if you eat food prepared by someone who does not wash his or her hands well after using the bathroom or changing a diaper.