By Kathleen Doheny
WebMD Health News
Sept. 14, 2009 — Showerheads in your home may harbor potentially infectious bacteria and enrich their growth, according to a new study.
Researchers from the University of Colorado sampled gunk, which they call biofilm, from 45 germy showerheads in nine U.S. cities, then analyzed the ribosomal RNA gene sequences from the swab samples to figure out exactly what microorgamisms lurked there. They compared them with swabs from water before it entered the showerhead.
“What we show is the showerhead biofilm contains Mycobacterium avium concentrations relative to other organisms 100-fold higher than in water [before it comes out of the showerhead],” says Norman R. Pace, the study’s senior author and distinguished professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Read More….
