As a follow-up to Diana’s post below, I was amused to read the following article:

“Superbug threatens Bible’s place in hospitals”

A hospital trust is considering removing Bibles from patients’ bedsides for fear that they may be spreading the superbug MRSA, it emerged today.

The University Hospitals of Leicester NHS trust is meeting on Friday to discuss the health risks from copies of Gideon Bibles provided in patient lockers in Leicester’s three main hospitals.

The trust wants to consult on the whether the books could increase the risk of spreading MRSA if they become contaminated with body fluids.

Gideons International, which distributes the Bibles widely in hospitals, hotels, cruise liners and prisons, said their removal would be “outrageous”.

For those who aren’t in the medical field, MRSA is short for “methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus“, an especially nasty drug-resistant strain of bacterium. It’s something you don’t want. Here’s a related article. (Via Linkfilter.)