A single kiss transfers how many (million) bugs?!

Scientists claim that a single 10-second kiss can transfer as many as 80 million bugs.

14:59 18 November 2014

A recent study conducted by Dutch scientists, which monitored the kissing behaviour of 21 couples, revealed that a single 10-second kiss can transfer as many as 80 million bugs. It added that couples who kissed nine times a day were most likely to share bacteria.  

 

The study, which was published in journal Microbiome, asked 21 couples a series of questions to assess their kissing habits.

 

The team from the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research then took bacterial samples from the volunteers’ toungues and saliva before and after a strictly timed 10-second kiss. 

 

Prof Remco Kort, who led the research, said: "French kissing is a great example of exposure to a gigantic number of bacteria in a short time.

 

"But only some bacteria transferred from a kiss seemed to take hold on the tongue.

 

"Further research should look at the properties of the bacteria and the tongue that contribute to this sticking power.

 

"These types of investigations may help us design future bacterial therapies and help people with troublesome bacterial problems."