Shower heads spray bacteria

Published by rudy Date posted on September 15, 2009

CHICAGO – SHOWER heads can deliver a face full of dangerous pathogens, according to a study published on Monday which found them to be ideal breeding grounds for bacteria.

US researchers analysed 50 shower heads from nine different cities and found 30 per cent harboured significant levels of a pathogen linked to lung disease called mycobacterium avium.

While the pathogen is common in municipal water systems, the levels found clinging to shower heads in slimy ‘biofilms’ were more than 100 times higher than the ‘background’ levels in the water.

‘If you are getting a face full of water when you first turn your shower on, that means you are probably getting a particularly high load of Mycobacterium avium, which may not be too healthy,’ said lead author Norman Pace, a microbiologist at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Pace’s team began studying shower heads after research at the National Jewish Hospital in Denver found that recent increases in pulmonary infections from so-called ‘non-tuberculosis’ mycobacteria species like M. avium may be linked to people taking more showers and fewer baths.

That’s because water spurting from shower heads can distribute pathogen-filled droplets that are easily inhaled into the deepest parts of the lungs.

‘There have been some precedents for concern regarding pathogens and shower heads,’ said Dr Pace. ‘But until this study we did not know just how much concern.’ Immune-compromised people like pregnant women, the elderly and those fighting off other diseases are most at risk of developing pulmonary disease caused by M. avium.

The symptoms include tiredness, a persistent, dry cough, shortness of breath, weakness and ‘generally feeling bad,’ Dr Pace said.

The researchers sampled shower heads in public facilities, houses and apartment buildings in New York, Illinois, Colorado, Tennessee and North Dakota. They found lower levels of pathogens in smaller towns and cities which used well water rather than municipal water.

They also found that metal shower heads harbored far fewer pathogens than plastic shower heads. The results do not indicate that people should switch from showers to baths, said co-author Laura Baumgartner, also of the University of Colorado.

‘Is it dangerous? Getting out of bed is dangerous,’ she said in a telephone interview. ‘Everywhere you go there are microbes.’ Switching to a metal shower head, especially one with a filter than can be changed regularly, can help reduce the buildup of pathogens.

Stepping outside the room for a minute after turning the shower on can also reduce the likelihood of inhaling pathogens that get pushed out of the shower head with the first burst of water, she said. ‘For the average person, you shouldn’t not be worried at all.’ The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. — AFP

July 2025

Nutrition Month
“Give us much more than P50 increase
for proper nutrition!”

Invoke Article 33 of the ILO Constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar
to carry out the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations
against serious violations of
Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.

Accept National Unity Government (NUG)
of Myanmar.  Reject Military!

#WearMask #WashHands #Distancing #TakePicturesVideosturesVideos

Time to support & empower survivors. Time to spark a global conversation. Time for #GenerationEquality to #orangetheworld!

July


3 July – International Day of Cooperatives
3 Ju
ly – International Plastic Bag Free Day
 
5 July –
World Youth Skills Day 
7 July – Global Forgiveness Day
11 July – World Population Day 
17 July – World Day for
International Justice
28 July – World Nature Conservation Day
30 July – World Day against Trafficking in Persons 


Monthly Observances:

Schools Safety Month

Nutrition Month
National Disaster Consciousness Month

Weekly Observances:

Week 2: Cultural Communities Week
Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise
Development Week
Week 3: National Science and
Technology Week
National Disability Prevention and
Rehabilitation Week
July 1-7:
National Culture Consciousness Week
July 13-19:
Philippines Business Week
Week ending last Saturday of July:
Arbor Week

 

Daily Observances:

First Saturday of July:
International Cooperative Day
in the Philippines

Categories

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.