'Incidentally, the flu virus may indeed, not be "hanging around your genitals or rear end" but just google "fecal oral transmission" to learn all the fun bugs that *would* be lingering there :)'

I fear for people that're handling fecal matter before handling their food. Personally, I generally use toilet paper when I'm wiping, so I don't have to handle fecal matter.

Washing your hands after using the bathroom may be bad social etiquette, but it's absolutely not necessary, in any sense, and doesn't help prevent the flu. Ask yourself what in the world flu germs would be doing hanging around your genitals or rear end, and how they got there.

In fact, if anything, washing your hands after using the bathroom would likely increase your chances of getting sick out of it. Think of it; you touch the faucet that dozens, maybe hundreds of others touched BEFORE washing their hands. Afterwards, you fondle the towel dispenser/air dryer that many others have used.

Personally, I haven't had the flu in years, and I could be said to wash my hands rarely. Don't worry, I'm not working in the food industry. It's not so much about obsessive compulsive hand washing habits as about common sense. Avoid making out with people who may be sick. Don't eat food prepared by somebody that's sneezed all over it. Above all, before engaging in cannibalistic rituals, be sure the person you're eating is in good health.