Public transit: Where we commune with our fellow man - and his microbes. Picking up mysterious illnesses from strangers is one of the many unique joys of city living, and though the TTC incorporated anti-microbial handle coatings into its latest trains, Toronto's transit system - and your immune system - are never truly safe from tiny intruders.

There's no guarantee that guy next to you with the tissues stuffed in his sleeve is properly executing the sneeze-into-arm manouevre, and unless you wanted to bathe in hand sanitizer, or wear one of those surgical masks in public, there wasn't really much you could do - until now!

With the launch of a new brand, Adrianian Canadian, Toronto fashion designer Adrian Wu has just unveiled "the world's first antibacterial scarf specifically designed for public transit". The pieces are made of a cotton/synthetic material coated with an antimicrobial agent meant to repel the bacteria, mold and viruses that would normally penetrate a piece of fabric.

They come in two styles - a simple loop scarf for $48 and a double-size zippered model for $84 - and three different colours, available now for preorder on the brand's website. (Hot tip for hypochondriacs: Steer clear of the brand's collection of transit facts, which suggest that you are six times more likely to end up at the doctor's with a respiratory infection if you have recently used a bus or train. Shudder.)

Photo courtesy Adrianian Canadian on Facebook.