Science Ticker Health & Medicine

Fist bumps spread fewer bacteria than handshakes

Fist bumps are more than cool. They're a healthier way to greet people, spreading fewer bacteria than handshakes and high fives.

The White House/Wikimedia Commons

By Science News Staff

Guest post by Chris Riotta

Fist bumping spreads far fewer bacteria than a handshake or a high five.

A handshake transfers twice as many bacteria as a high five and roughly twenty times more bacteria than a fist bump, researchers report July 28 in American Journal of Infection Control. The results support some doctors’ decisions to ban handshakes in hospitals and healthcare facilities as a way to decrease the spread of infectious diseases.

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