Abstract
The household is a potential source of opportunistic pathogens to humans, a particularly critical issue for immunodeficient individuals. An important human-microbe interface is the biofilm that develops on showerhead surfaces. Once microbe-laden biofilms become aerosolized, they can potentially be inhaled into the lungs. Understanding how quickly a new showerhead becomes colonized would provide useful information to minimize exposure to potentially pathogenic environmental microbes. High school scientists sampled the inner surfaces of pre-existing and newly fitted showerheads monthly over a nine-month period and applied standard microbiologic culture techniques to qualitatively assess microbial growth. Water chemistry was also monitored using commercial test strips. Sampling was performed in households on Oahu, Hawai'i and Denver, Colorado, representing warm/humid and cold/arid environments, respectively. Pre-existing showerheads in Hawai'i showed more diverse microbial growth and significantly greater microbial numbers than a comparable showerhead from Colorado. New, chrome-plated or plastic showerheads in Hawai'i showed diverse and abundant growth one month after installment compared to new showerheads from Colorado. The pH, ...Continue Reading
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