Fitness centers and gyms are hotbeds of germ activity. Norovirus, which causes abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea, can survive for a month on the surface of exercise machines.
The fungi responsible for foot infections multiply very rapidly in the shower. As found in locker rooms, microbes like MRSA, can lead to dangerous skin infections.
A recent study in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine found rhinoviruses on 63 percent of the gym equipment at the fitness centers they tested.