The case of disgusting mucus: what danger does the soul hide
'04.05.2021'
Source: Vesti.Meditsina
Even if you never thought there was a slug on an argument like that man from Australia (for which, by the way, everything ended sadly), this does not mean that you are completely safe. If only because mucus — oh, horror — is haunting us everywhere. For example, when after a long working day we go to the shower to wash off all our worries and problems.
Despite the fact that showering is associated with cleanliness, the shower head, experts warn, can be filled with germs, they note Vesti.Meditsina. In fact, this fact is nothing particularly scary, because microbes inhabit not only all things with which we constantly interact, but also our skin, and, moreover, our body as a whole.
But not all bacteria are equally safe - and this is the reason why you need to understand that microbes live where we wash.
A team of scientists from the University of Colorado (University of Colorado) looked into the microbial soul community to find out if there are particularly nasty pathogens hiding there. So they managed to find out that, although the majority of shower microbes are harmless (about 200 species that are commonly found in the environment), Mycobacterium is a group of bacteria, some strains of which cause leprosy and tuberculosis.
Fortunately, most NTMB (non-tuberculous mycobacteria) are not associated with any human disease, so there is no need to worry about the fact that they live in the head of the soul. But, in addition to obviously dangerous strains, a number of mycobacteria can provoke lung infections, which, of course, is important to keep in mind.
During the analysis, the team examined the 656 biofilm samples of domestic showers from the USA and Europe, which allowed them to make one intriguing conclusion.
It turned out that the bacterial hazard of the soul is different in these regions. So, mycobacteria are more common in American homes than in European ones, because, researchers believe, in the US, chlorine is actively used for water purification, to which NTMB are generally resistant.
The results, published in mBio, also allowed us to say that the metal shower heads always contained more non-tuberculous mycobacteria, while the plastic shower heads had a more diverse microbiome (probably due to plastic substances that microbes like) .
Now scientists plan to figure out how to minimize the risks associated with germs when we shower in our apartment. Well, in the meantime, they suggest that we do not worry too much.
