Diseases From Stamps On Paper?

This is a question that I have wanted to ask for some time now.

Does anyone know if you can catch a transferred sickness from taking
stamps off paper, be it new stamps or old.

I can imagine stamps on paper could come into contact with poison.

On Seinfeld didn't George Costanza's Wife die from licking either an envelope or Stamp ?

Before taking much stock in this newspaper article, keep in mind that it was written well over a century ago:



For a more modern response to a related question, checkout this link:

http://www.ehow.com/list_6299451_da...elopes_.html

Well that's a tough one!
I have just done some food hygiene exams as we are setting up a catering business.
The types of bacteriological pathogens that we have covered (like e-coli, for instance) could theoretically survive in a spore state in a dry environment. When conditions became favourable again, for instance, they become damp, they could begin to multiply once again to levels where they could cause disease. HOWEVER - they would have to be ingested into the body to cause harm. They won't cause harm through just skin contact.

Poisons you mention - by which you mean poisonous chemicals etc, as opposed to toxic bacteria? I can't imagine that most envelopes or stamps would come into contact with a toxic substance and retain it at a sufficient level to cause harm.

But these are just my not-particularily well-educated opinions.
I hope this is a hypothetical question, and not something you are worried about? If you are worried, I would suggest you seek a definitive answer from a healthcare professional, for peace of mind.

KGVcollector, One of our group is a Chemist. From his lifetime experience with the Sick and Effected, he's pushed one point -

'Before touching/preparing/eating any food/fruit/vegetable always thoroughly sanitize your fingers/hands after contact with used stamps and paper'.

Not sure about catch a transferred sickness, but they can extract DNA.

I cannot speak for this at all medically, but I've often wondered about covers and other mail that has been retained from say, TB Sanitariums, Smallpox Quarantine hospitals, etc., though the years. I seem to remember stories about trainloads of mail destined to/from these locations that were doused with disinfectant so as not to spread disease to others.

More recently, following the 9/11 disaster, wasn't there some modern version of an electronic means to neutralize any potential contaminants on mail being delivered to US households, along with the recommendation that people wash their hands after handling that mail?

As I said, I cannot speak about it medically, but I think it's reasonably accurate to suggest that after a given amount of time, any disease or germs on the stamps or covers would eventually die and therefore pose little threat to collectors.

However, the idea to wash one's hands after handling such items are certainly a good idea anyway. In reality, anything we touch, especially things like currency and coins, that the general public uses on a daily basis, can carry disease. There have also been reports of garbage-hunting collectors that have no concerns about rummaging through trash or dumpsters to retrieve collectible stamps.

I suppose one could carry this idea to the extreme and not collect anything! However, as a practical matter, I am not aware of any collectors becoming sick because of their hobby, so I suppose while it can be an issue, it's not a very serious one or we would hear much more about the dangers associated with it.

I am a microbiologist. Infection from licking or handling a stamp or an envelope that has bacteria on it is possible but unlikely.

Think about all the billions of envelope and stamps that people have licked over the many years that they have been around. Have you ever heard of an outbreak due to contaminated stamps?

I have even heard of urban legends of stamps being tampered with to cause illness, but I have never read a credible reference of it happening.

The likelihood of getting an illness from poor hygiene is many times higher than getting one from stamps. No matter what you're doing, wash your hands well and often!

Karen

Interesting, thank you to everyone!

Washing one's hands after handling used stamps sound like a very good answer.

It covers poison and anything else that maybe around, like animal or insect parts or droppings.

I did get an infection in my finger once after soaking a lot of kiloware. I think the skin on my finger was already open, and having it come into contact with the water I was soaking the stamps in sealed the deal. I had to have it drained, which was quite painful.