STUDY-SHOWERS SPREAD BACTERIA AND VIRUSES

Posted on September 16, 2009 by Jeffrey Newman

Daily bathroom showers can deliver pathogens including bacteria and viruses to the face, a University of Colorado study shows. This finding, in the face of a rising pandemic of H1N1 virus, appears in the September 14, 2009 edition of the Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences and indicates that increases in lung infections in the U.S. of non-tuberculosis myobacteria may be linked to people taking more showers and fewer baths. Water coming from showerheads distribute pathogen filled droplets that are suspended in the air and are inhaled to the deepest part of the lungs. The study authors recommend that immune compromised people including pregnant women, the elderly and those fighting off disease may be more prone to illnesses from this source.