Used books have virus?

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Bookcat said:
cdc.gov/flu/school/cleaning.htm

I recall some info from them that flu could live up to 24 hours – but do not have it now.

For other possible times for varied strains – one can contact the CDC
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Book,

Your used books probably don’t have virus. Did you happen to read the CDC as follows…
Most studies have shown that the flu virus can live and potentially infect a person for only 2 to 8 hours after being deposited on a surface.
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Far be it from me to contradict you, Coptic, but the Health Protection Agency issues the following advice about flu:
The flu virus is contained in the millions of tiny droplets that come out of the nose and mouth when someone coughs or sneezes.
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These droplets typically spread about one metre. They hang suspended in the air for a while before landing on surfaces,** where the virus can survive for up to 24 hours**.
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Anyone who breathes in the droplets can catch flu. And anyone who touches the surfaces the droplets have landed on can also catch flu if they pick up the virus on their hands and then touch their nose or mouth.
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Everyday items at home and in public places can easily become contaminated with traces of flu virus including food, door handles, the remote control, handrails, telephone handsets and computer keyboards.
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So, it’s very important to wash your hands frequently to prevent catching and spreading flu.
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nhs.uk/Conditions/Flu/Pages/Causes.aspx

In the case of a second hand book though, if one was being exceptionally cautious, one might leave it aside for 24 hours, but in all likelihood the pages of the book would have long since ceased being a vector for the flu virus, although it’s just possible that someone in the shop might have sneezed on it. With that in mind, a person should simply wash their hands after handling the book for the first day in which they own it.
 
I love to divulge books new and second hand but my mum told me once that when we were young and one of us was ill the doctor threw a library book into the fire because of the germs and virus’ that are spread through them.:confused:
 
DexUK said:
Far be it from me to contradict you, Coptic, but the Health Protection Agency issues the following advice about flu:

nhs.uk/Conditions/Flu/Pages/Causes.aspx

In the case of a second hand book though, if one was being exceptionally cautious, one might leave it aside for 24 hours, but in all likelihood the pages of the book would have long since ceased being a vector for the flu virus, although it’s just possible that someone in the shop might have sneezed on it. With that in mind, a person should simply wash their hands after handling the book for the first day in which they own it.
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Dex,

Someone could have sneezed on the book, wiped their nose with the book, put the book in their respirator but for the most part this is something most books have no problem as being a vector for.
 
ivdaeorum said:
I love to divulge books new and second hand but my mum told me once that when we were young and one of us was ill the doctor threw a library book into the fire because of the germs and virus’ that are spread through them.:confused:
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Jvdaoerum,

You may want to speak to someone that new Howard Hughes and see if you can get hold of his method of handling of germs.
 
Alma said:
I ordered some paper books (yes that old stuff printed on paper :rolleyes: ), and since there was a huge difference on the price of a new book (12 dollars) or a used one (.10 dollars!!) I bought the used ones.

I wanted to give some to a friend, but he is concerned they might have been read by someone with the flu or tb or some other contagious disease.:eek:

I told him I would ask you guys ( who always give me good answers;)) , how much time, if any, can a virus survive in the cover or pages of a book?

And is there an easy way to desinfect a book?

Sorry for this weird question…😛

Alma
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You’ve already had some great reassuring advice on viruses and bacteria, so I hate to be the bearer of bad news. You don’t need to worry about the microscopic “bugs” but you might worry (at least a tad) about the almost microscopic ones. Used, old, and even new but poorly stored books can, and sometimes do, harbor creepy crawly critters ::::shudder:::: That’s not to say you shouldn’t buy them … just saying it can happen. My personal ratio has been about 1 in 200. If really worried about this, seal recently bought used books in ziploc bags until you can go through them carefully and inspect for non-ticketed passengers :eek:

And for what it’s worth, no - I have no idea what exactly the infestations were that I experienced. It moved. I squished it and/or tossed the book. End of story. :sad_yes:
 
For the small price of $100,000 I will build a used-book decontamination chamber that automatically flips through the pages of the book while treating with vaporized hydrogen peroxide*. For an additional fee I will personally test for the presence of 18 different pathogenic microbes and viruses including Bacillus anthracis, enterohemorragenic E. coli, and avian influenza H5N1.
  • Note I assume no liability for damage to paper, binding, inks, or illustrations including rare or out-of-print editions.
 
Alma said:
I ordered some paper books (yes that old stuff printed on paper :rolleyes: ), and since there was a huge difference on the price of a new book (12 dollars) or a used one (.10 dollars!!) I bought the used ones.

I wanted to give some to a friend, but he is concerned they might have been read by someone with the flu or tb or some other contagious disease.:eek:

I told him I would ask you guys ( who always give me good answers;)) , how much time, if any, can a virus survive in the cover or pages of a book?

And is there an easy way to desinfect a book?

Sorry for this weird question…😛

Alma
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When I saw your title I thought a “virus” had somehow scrambled the text and each page was renumbered 404.

The idea of disinfecting books is ridiculous and I suspect it might destroy the glue in the binding. Almost certainly it would discolor and curl the pages.

Our ancestors grew up in a dirty world with immune systems to match. Our modern obsession with avoiding germs just leads to autoimmune disorders like food allergies.

PS – I would avoid books with mold damage.
 
i suggest she goes to a medic, or to some guy that studied biochemistry or anything like that. I’ve hard of this woman that had a problem fearing microbes and such, and when she was at the bus, she was not grabbed of anything, so she fell down and got hurt.
 
Unless your friend stays inside al the time in a special vacuum then I can’t imagine a book has anything worse than you would find just out and about in the outside world, on public transport, exchanging money, in any public space. This is why we have immune systems. As long as we’re careful about putting our hands/fingers near our mouths.
 
didymus said:
I bet you can find the same on other books, definitely on dollar bills (of whatever denomination). When is the last time you microwaved your money to disinfect it?
You prefer credit or debit card? Me too. I wonder how many folks handle that stylus.
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I saw this post and stuck all the change in my pocket in the microwave. Bad idea! The new microwave is going to cost a lot more than 87 cents!
 
Bobby_Jim said:
I saw this post and stuck all the change in my pocket in the microwave. Bad idea! The new microwave is going to cost a lot more than 87 cents!
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Really?
I’ve microwaved CDs and aluminum foil with no ill effects – amazing light show, though.
 
didymus said:
Really?
I’ve microwaved CDs and aluminum foil with no ill effects – amazing light show, though.
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No, not really! But I think you can damage the microwave that way. Why did you microwave CDs? To kill computer viruses? 😉
 
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