샤워기의 꼭지에 끈적거리는 필터라고 할 수 있는 미생물막((biofilm)이 있어 여기에 병원성 미생물이 풍부하게 달라붙을 수 있다는 콜로라도대학의 노먼 페이스 박사팀의 연구결과가 2009년 9월 14일자 미국국립과학원회보(PNAS)에 실렸습니다.
검사대상 사워꼭지의 30%에서 mycrobacterium avium이 검출되었는데… 조류의 결핵균이라고 할 수 있는 이 세균은 사람에게 폐결핵을 일으키지는 않지만(non-tuberculous mycobacteria) 지속적인 기침과 피곤함, 전신 무력감, 호흡곤란 등이 일어날 수 있습니다. 건강한 사람은 이 세균에 노출되었다고 하더라고 건강상 문제가 생길 가능성이 별로 없지만, 면역력이 저하된 임산부, 노인, 만성질환자 같은 경우는 위험할 수 있습니다.
논문의 요약문 원문은 다음과 같습니다.
Opportunistic pathogens enriched in showerhead biofilms
- Leah M. Feazela,
- Laura K. Baumgartnera,
- Kristen L. Petersona,
- Daniel N. Franka,
- J. Kirk Harrisb and
- Norman R. Pacea,1
+ Author Affiliations
Contributed by Norman R. Pace, July 29, 2009 (sent for review June 25, 2009)
출처 : September 14, 2009
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/recent
Abstract
The environments we humans encounter daily are sources of exposure to diverse microbial communities, some of potential concern to human health. In this study, we used culture-independent technology to investigate the microbial composition of biofilms inside showerheads as ecological assemblages in the human indoor environment. Showers are an important interface for human interaction with microbes through inhalation of aerosols, and showerhead waters have been implicated in disease. Although opportunistic pathogens commonly are cultured from shower facilities, there is little knowledge of either their prevalence or the nature of other microorganisms that may be delivered during shower usage. To determine the composition of showerhead biofilms and waters, we analyzed rRNA gene sequences from 45 showerhead sites around the United States. We find that variable and complex, but specific, microbial assemblages occur inside showerheads. Particularly striking was the finding that sequences representative of non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) and other opportunistic human pathogens are enriched to high levels in many showerhead biofilms, >100-fold above background water contents. We conclude that showerheads may present a significant potential exposure to aerosolized microbes, including documented opportunistic pathogens. The health risk associated with showerhead microbiota needs investigation in persons with compromised immune or pulmonary systems.
Footnotes
- 1To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: norman.pace@colorado.edu
Author contributions: L.M.F., L.K.B., and N.R.P. designed research; L.M.F., L.K.B., and K.L.P. performed research; D.N.F. and J.K.H. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; L.M.F., K.L.P., D.N.F., J.K.H., and N.R.P. analyzed data; and L.M.F. and N.R.P. wrote the paper.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
