EDITORIAL: Unclear advice spreads diseaseThe Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on Tuesday last week reported that it observed a growing trend of diarrhea cases from the beginning of this year, and with schools opening and people returning to work after the Lunar New Year holiday, diarrhea cases are expected to rise. During the holiday itself, diarrhea cases accounted for 10.1 percent of all emergency room visits. Meanwhile, there were many discussions on social media in recent years about whether people should use soap bars or liquid soap in public restrooms, due to concerns over contamination. A similar experiment by a TV news network in 2024 found that four in 10 soaps in public restrooms had a bacterial count exceeding legal limits, and also showed clips of insects and impurities found in the samples. It also advised public restrooms to use touchless sealed-system soap dispensers rather than refillable soap dispensers, and said that refillable dispensers must be routinely cleaned and dried before being refilled to reduce contamination.

Source: Taipei Times March 01, 2026 16:28 UTC