Not only bacteria feel at home in the bathroom: viruses also feel in paradise on shower heads and especially on toothbrushes. There is a huge variety of viruses there: more than 600, as samples showed.
“The number of viruses we found is absolutely crazy,” said study leader Erica Hartmann of Northwestern University in Evanston, whose team published the study results in the journal “Frontiers in Microbiomes.” “We found many viruses we know very little about, and many others we have never seen before.” There was also very little overlap between two samples. “Every shower head and every toothbrush is like its own island.”
Bacteria as “hosts”
The good news is: the viruses are not dangerous to humans, but attack and multiply in bacteria. Recently, more and more research has been done on such so-called bacteriophages to treat antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections.
The researchers assume that newly discovered virus species could be a treasure trove for this. Many phages were found in the samples that specifically infect mycobacteria – causes of diseases such as leprosy, tuberculosis and lung infections. “It’s amazing how much unused biodiversity there is around us,” says Hartmann. “And you don’t even have to look far to find it, it’s right under our noses.”
More than 100 samples were taken
For the study, the researchers asked people to send used toothbrushes and cotton swabs from their shower heads. Previous analyzes already showed that a large diversity of bacteria was present in the samples. For the virus analysis, 34 samples from brushes and 92 samples from shower heads were analyzed.
“This project started out of curiosity,” Hartmann explains. “We wanted to know which microbes live in our homes.” Surfaces such as tables and walls are difficult for microbes to colonize because they prefer environments with water. ‘And where is water? In our shower heads and on our toothbrushes.”
Replacing your toothbrush regularly is sufficient
The research team also emphasized that the diversity of microbes in the bathroom is by no means a reason to use antimicrobial cleaning products. It is sufficient to replace your toothbrush regularly. Special antimicrobial toothbrushes are also not necessary, especially since they can lead to antibiotic-resistant germs. Cleaning the shower head with soap and, if necessary, descaler is sufficient.
“Microbes are everywhere, and the vast majority of them don’t make us sick,” Hartmann explains. “The more you fight them with disinfectants, the greater the chance that they will develop resistance or become more difficult to treat.”
Source: Krone
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