32
HEALTH AND SANITATION
Bacteria in our
showerheads
Researchers in the US have made a compelling link between
people suffering from certain illnesses and the bacteria that
has built up in their showerheads.
By Warren Robertson
Showerheads could be making people sick.
The study, published in the January 2019 issue
of the American Society for Microbiology’s
journal, mBio, emphasises the important role of
showerheads in the transmission of a range of
illnesses called nontuberculous mycobacterial
(NTM) infections.
Researchers, intrigued by the possibility that the
bacteria that develops over time in showerheads may
July 2019 Volume 25 I Number 5
impact health, studied a range of showerheads in
homes throughout the US and Europe and found that
these devices, “often harbour abundant mycobacterial
communities that vary in composition depending on
geographic location, water chemistry, and water source.”
While the vast majority of the bacteria were found to be
innocuous, some were potential pathogens, including
members of the genus mycobacterium that can cause
www.plumbingafrica.co.za