Can anyone tell me ? how long can bacteria and viruses live?

How long can bacteria and viruses live on very dusty surfaces that have not been cleaned for a long time? And what type of bacteria and viruses are most likely to live in these conditions?...

dinzag x	They can live a very long time if the conditions are right.
bigbird_gem	depends on the tpye of virus or bacteria, It can also depend where the area that hasnt been cleaned is
George P. N	your question is to broad. there are various bacteria and viruses that can live long thy are found in Egyptian mummies
zxcv	A very long time and they will continue to multiply rapidly and spread to other surfaces....
flipin_mentalzar	....i dunno....how old r u?
Queen	Depending on the virus/bacteria, it can range from seconds to months. The type of bacteria you'll find depends on the setting (e.g., dusty kitchen vs dusty bedroom).
firewalker6	Go to Discover.com . I watched a group of scientist goto the Arctic and go down in Ice caves so they could find bacteria that was dated back before the dinosores. Still living. They also talked about how some of the bacteria could live in extreem temp like 300 deg F. and as cold as Space. Hopes this helps.
Ali	A virus needs a live host to live in/on. They die once outside the body for more than a few minutes. Bacteria, on the other hand live on any surface, not sure it would do well with a lot of dust though. I think they can live for weeks if not months. Hope this helps!