Nothing to Sneeze At: Doctors' Neckties Seen as Flu Risk

I have, with some reluctance, decreased my use of neckties since 2006 when the evidence came out of Britain that ties may be significant fomites. The difficulty is maintaining a professional dress code without a tie...
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The list of things to avoid during flu season includes crowded buses, hospitals and handshakes. Consider adding this: your doctor's necktie.

Neckties are rarely, if ever, cleaned. When a patient is seated on the examining table, doctors' ties often dangle perilously close to sneeze level. In recent years, a debate has emerged in the medical community over whether they harbor dangerous germs.
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In June, the American Medical Association considered Resolution 720, which advocates a new dress code for doctors "due to evidence that neckties, long sleeves and other clothing items and accessories have been implicated in the spread of infections in hospitals." An AMA committee is seeking solid scientific evidence before it brings the matter to a vote.

The British Medical Association already decided the issue. It recommended in 2006 that physicians jettison "functionless" articles of clothing, including neckties, "as superbugs can be carried on them."
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A search of the literature turned up ample evidence that patients don't pay much attention to how doctors dress. In one study, patients who were quizzed after clinic visits were mistaken 30% to 50% of the time about whether the doctor had been wearing a tie.