Kaitlyn D’Onofrio

DocwireNews

A new study has discovered a correlation between high levels of pathogenic mycobacteria on showerheads and nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) lung infections.&nbsp;According to the researchers, while most bacteria found in showerheads and other household waterways are&nbsp;innocuous, some are potential pathogens. Among these are genus&nbsp;Mycobacterium&nbsp;that lead to nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease&mdash;which the researchers call an increasing public health concern in the United States and other developed countries.&nbsp;<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
New <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/microBEnet?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#microBEnet</a> blog post: Ever wonder what microbes are in your showerhead? Well, looks like maybe you should care &hellip; <a href="https://t.co/FeuXbc3j8s">https://t.co/FeuXbc3j8s</a>
&mdash; Jonathan Eisen (@phylogenomics) <a href="https://twitter.com/phylogenomics/status/1057507649242230789?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 31, 2018</a>
</blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Researchers studied&nbsp;biofilm samples from 656&nbsp;showerheads in the U.S.&nbsp;(n = 606)&nbsp;and Europe&nbsp;(n = 50)&nbsp;and&nbsp;evaluated the bacteria present using a cultivation-independent 16S rRNA gene sequencing approach. They&nbsp;found that, on average, the most bacteria found in the samples were members of the genus&nbsp;Mycobacterium.&nbsp;Mycobacterium&nbsp;genus represented an average of 13.5% of overall 16S rRNA gene reads&mdash;but presence varied greatly between samples, ranging from 0% (no presence of mycobacteria) to &gt; 99% of bacterial 16S rRNA gene reads. In 238 samples,&nbsp;Mycobacterium&nbsp;comprised &gt; 10% of 16S rRNA gene reads.&nbsp;American showerheads had, on average, 2.3 times the presence of&nbsp;Mycobacterium&nbsp;genus taxa than European ones. In the U.S., mycobacteria incidence was greater in&nbsp;homes with water from municipal water treatment plants than homes using well water.&nbsp;<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Researchers Find Correlation between Showerhead <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bacteria?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bacteria</a> and Lung Infections &ndash; New Study in <a href="https://twitter.com/ASMicrobiology?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ASMicrobiology</a>'s <a href="https://twitter.com/mbiojournal?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mbiojournal</a> <a href="https://t.co/g2mxgHjMrX">https://t.co/g2mxgHjMrX</a> <a href="https://t.co/t54GYaG8Lg">pic.twitter.com/t54GYaG8Lg</a>
&mdash; ASM Newsroom (@ASMnewsroom) <a href="https://twitter.com/ASMnewsroom/status/1057323093193043969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2018</a>
</blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>&ldquo;Water treatment plants in the United States must maintain excess chlorine-based disinfectant within the distribution system, and we found, as expected, that those homes on municipal water had measured total chlorine concentrations 15 times higher, on average, than homes with well water,&rdquo; the researchers wrote.&nbsp;Researchers also observed &ldquo;significant correlations between the abundances of these mycobacteria found in showerheads sampled across the United States and NTM lung disease prevalence.&rdquo;&nbsp;<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
A new study suggests that <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/pathogenic?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#pathogenic</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/mycobacteria?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#mycobacteria</a> lurking in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/showerheads?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#showerheads</a> may play an important role in the transmission of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/lung?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#lung</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/infections?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#infections</a>.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PathogenicBacteria?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PathogenicBacteria</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LungInfections?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LungInfections</a> <a href="https://t.co/dLp914Do7F">https://t.co/dLp914Do7F</a>
&mdash; BioNews Central (@bionewscentral) <a href="https://twitter.com/bionewscentral/status/1057301194740326405?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2018</a>
</blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Regions with a high number of NTM lung disease patients&nbsp;(including Florida, Hawaii, southern California, and the mid-Atlantic states) were the same ones with significant potentially pathogenic mycobacteria presence on showerheads.&nbsp;The researchers wrote, &ldquo;More generally, our results highlight the relevance of understanding how shifts in household water sources (i.e., from well to municipal water sources) and water treatment practices may be contributing to the apparent rise in NTM infections in U.S. and European populations,&rdquo; also noting that their study highlights &ldquo;the important role of showerheads in the transmission of NTM infections.&rdquo;&nbsp;<a href="https://proddocwire.wpengine.com/docwire-pick/home-page-picks/lung-dysfunction-associated-with-degree-of-renal-function-impairment-in-ckd-patients/">Lung Dysfunction Associated with Degree of Renal Function Impairment in CKD Patients</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://proddocwire.wpengine.com/pulmonology/collagen-biomarkers-and-subclinical-interstitial-lung-disease-the-multi-ethnic-study-of-atherosclerosis/">Collagen biomarkers and subclinical interstitial lung disease: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://proddocwire.wpengine.com/abstracts/lung-ultrasound-surface-wave/">Lung ultrasound surface wave elastography for assessing interstitial lung disease</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://proddocwire.wpengine.com/pulmonology/collagen-biomarkers-and-subclinical-interstitial-lung-disease-the-multi-ethnic-study-of-atherosclerosis/">Collagen biomarkers and subclinical interstitial lung disease: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis</a>&nbsp;Source:&nbsp;<a href="https://mbio.asm.org/content/9/5/e01614-18">mBio&nbsp;</a>

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Study: Showerhead Bacteria Associated with Lung Disease

Pulmonology

A new study has discovered a correlation between high levels of pathogenic mycobacteria on showerheads and nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) lung infections.  ...

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