DW: Looks like tissue box shoes and dead bolted doors again...
They may not be the worst, but you still probably shouldn’t be giving public restroom toilet seats a caress. Research shows they're often less contaminated than other high-touch surfaces like door handles, faucet knobs, and flush levers, which are touched repeatedly, often by unwashed hands. Studies have found gut bacteria, skin bacteria, viruses like norovirus, and even parasite traces on toilet surfaces, but healthy skin typically provides adequate protection against transmission through simple contact.
The bigger hidden threat, experts say, is the "toilet plume," the spray of tiny germ-filled droplets launched into the air when a toilet is flushed without a lid, which can travel up to two meters and linger for several minutes. Hand dryers can also spread germs if hands aren't properly washed beforehand. Doctors recommend washing hands thoroughly for at least 20 seconds, using paper towels over dryers, closing the lid before flushing when possible, and keeping phones out of the bathroom entirely, as they easily pick up bacteria on surfaces.
Source: Science Daily