Public restroom bacterial pathogens easily transmitted by the touching of surfaces

Flores GE. PLoS One. 2011;doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0028132.

People have often wondered what unsanitary horrors might be lurking in public bathrooms, widely considered the quintessential bacterial breeding ground. According to findings recently published online in PLoS One, researchers used novel genetic sequencing methods, revealing an overabundance of bacteria in a survey of public restrooms — from the doors and the floors to the faucet handles and toilet seats — with potential public health implications.

Researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder investigated 12 public restrooms, six male and six female, in Colorado. Using a high-throughput genetic sequencing technique, they identified various bacteria on all of the surfaces they tested, according to a press release. The floor had the most diverse bacterial community, and human skin was the primary source of bacteria on all surfaces. There were a few differences between the bacteria found in the male vs. female bathrooms.

The sequencing approach also allowed the researchers to determine the source of the bacteria they identified, including skin, soil and urine. This methodology could potentially help “analyze bathroom bacterial communities to identify proper (or improper) hygiene habitats, and that the exchange of bacteria on building surfaces may represent an important mode of pathogen transmission between individuals,” they said in the press release.

Disclosure: This work was supported with funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and its Indoor Environment program, and in part by the NIH and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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