Is Your Shower Dousing You with Bacteria?

Norman Pace, from University of Colorado at Boulder (USA), and colleagues analyzed 50 showerheads from nine US cities and found that about 30% harbored high levels of Mycobacterium avium, a group of bacteria that can cause lung infections when inhaled or swallowed. The team measured the levels of Mycobacterium avium on showerheads at 100-fold greater levels than those found in typical household water, and suggested that water spurting from showerheads can distribute pathogen-filled droplets that suspend themselves in the air and can easily be inhaled into the deepest parts of the lungs.