Jul 28, 2014 11:39 AM EDT By J Baulkman, UniversityHerald Reporter

A fist bump may be a wiser greeting when it comes to avoiding germs, according to a recent study Counsel and Heal reported.

Researchers from Aberystwyth University in Wales found that in order to reduce the chances of contracting germs during the flue seasons or outbreaks, people should fist bump rather than shake hands.

Researcher David Whitworth emphasized that the adoption of the fist bump as a greeting could substantially reduce the transmission of infectious disease between individuals.

"There is definitely a serious side to this story, superficially it is very whimsical, but there is a serious message underneath," Whitworth told BBC News. "If there's a flu pandemic then handshaking might be something you want to think about or in a hospital with the spread of superbugs."

For the study, Whitworth and student Sara Mela conducted a series of experiments in which they shook hands, fist bumped, and high-fived each other dozens of times. One wore a glove covered in bacteria, while the other had on a clean sterilized glove. After each greeting, the researchers would measure how much bacteria had been transferred, the Associated Press reported.

They found that the fist bump was the most sanitary greeting. This is mostly because of the smaller amount of surface area in "contact between the two hands," the AP reported. Hand shaking transferred the most bacteria, while high fives pass along less than half the amount as a handshake.

According to BBC News, this is not the first time the argument has been raised. There have been many calls to ban handshakes from hospitals.

"There's a lot of inertia into changing this, a handshake is a badge of office and medics are trained to have a firm handshake to infuse patients with confidence, but you've got to ask is that appropriate behavior," Whitworth said.

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