Blowing in the wind: Bacteria and fungi are spreading from public restroom hand dryers
| Autor: | Jessie J Ma |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
Veterinary medicine
Bacteria Health Toxicology and Mutagenesis Airflow Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health Air Microbiology Fungi 010501 environmental sciences Biology Toxicology biology.organism_classification 030210 environmental & occupational health 01 natural sciences Molecular analysis 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Humans Toilet Facilities 0105 earth and related environmental sciences General Environmental Science |
| Zdroj: | Archives of environmentaloccupational health. 76(1) |
| ISSN: | 2154-4700 |
| Popis: | This study aimed to identify and quantify fungi and bacteria in the airflow of restroom hand dryers in public areas. Airflow from restroom hand dryers in 8 retail locations was tested using three types of culture media, followed by PCR and sequence analysis to identify microbial species. Both bacterial and fungal colonies were detected in all locations. The number of colonies did not vary significantly across different locations, suggesting a similar level of microbial spread by hand dryers between different types of commercial stores. Molecular analysis revealed 24 bacterial species and 40 fungal species. Of these species, 48% (31/64) have been reported to be implicated in various infections in humans, primarily those with underlying medical conditions. This study is the first to demonstrate the spread of fungi by the airflow of restroom hand dryers, and the first to show the prevalence of different fungal and bacterial species spread by restroom hand dryers in common public areas. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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