how many days will germ survive if they're not inside a living thing like a plant, animal, or person ?

Question

for example, some viruses can live for a while on something like a doorknob or countertop. How many days will it usually die on a countertop ?

Answer 1

It really varies a lot depending on the "germ". Viruses were once thought to not be able to survive more than an hour or so outside a host cell but now more and more research is showing that some can live for several days in the environment. (I have linked to an example about the hantavirus). Bacteria vary widely. Some bacterial cells can go into a very tough, resistant endospore stage that can last for long periods of time in the environment. A good example is anthrax (Bacillus anthracis). Back in the mid 1800s during the cattle drives in the American Southwest, the animals who died from anthrax were left on the trail and decomposed. Today, unvaccinated cattle that graze along those old trails can still get infected from the endospores that are in the soil. So that would mean the anthrax has survived at least 150 years. For most of the germs that would be on a countertop, if the countertop is dry and there is no residue of food value, we are talking a life span of a few minutes to a few hours.

Answer 2

You won't believe what I'm going to tell you. Some germs are aerobic, meaning they need air, some are anaerobic, meaning they need no air.

I did some work on Egyptian mummies many years ago. We worked to see if they carried any viruses. We were very surprised to find out that Egyptian mummies buried for over 3500 years, still had bacteria on them.
They dug up some bodies from the 1918 flu epidemic in Alaska. They still harbored the virus of flu.

So, I guess it's best not to take any chances on what's living where, Clean, clean, clean. Use soap and water, scrub at least fifteen minutes if it's pertinent and with hot soapy water.

Answer 3

Bacteria that infect humans can usually only live for about 30 minutes without the warm, moist environment that our body provides. Viruses are similar. There are some things though like bovine spongifora encephalitis (mad cow) which have been known to last more than 30 years.

Answer 4

It depends entirely on what type of germ/virus it is. HIV survives only a few seconds outside the human body, while hepatitis B & C can survive for 4 days or more outside the body (in blood). Unless you specify which virus you're talking about, no one here can give you a specific answer.

Answer 5

The length of time that cold and flu viruses can survive outside the body on an environmental surface varies greatly. But the suspected range is from a few seconds up to 48 hours, depending on the specific virus and the type of surface.

Flu viruses tend to live longer on surfaces than cold viruses. Also, it is generally believed that cold and flu viruses survive for longer periods on nonporous surfaces — such as plastic, metal or wood — than they do on porous surfaces — such as fabric or paper.

Although cold and flu viruses primarily spread from person-to-person contact, they can also spread from contact with contaminated objects or surfaces. The best way to avoid becoming infected with the cold or flu virus is to wash your hands frequently with soap and water or alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

Answer 6

It depends on the germ-common cold about 4 hours- Hep B up to 2 weeks.The stronger the bug the longer it will live .

Answer 7

depends on which one. I know that Cholera, for instance, can live on for many years in the ground. Others die off in just hours. I'm afraid I can't be more specific than that, it's not my field of expertise, I had just read some about it.

Answer 8

it depends what germs some are more hardcore than others