Microbiological hazards of household toilets: droplet production and the fate of residual organisms.

Applied microbiology ·Vol. 30 ·No. 2 ·1975-08-00 ·Pages 229-37

Gerba CP, Wallis C, Melnick JL

Abstract

Large numbers of bacteria and viruses when seeded into household toilets were shown to remain in the bowl after flushing, and even continual flushing could not remove a persistent fraction. This was found to be due to the adsorption of the organsims to the porcelain surfaces of the bowl, with gradual elution occuring after each flush. Droplets produced by flushing toilets were found to harbor both bacteria and viruses which had been seeded. The detection of bacteria and firuses falling out onto surfaces in bathrooms after flushing indicated that they remain airborne long enough to settle on surfaces throughout the bathroom. Thus, there is a possibility that a person may acquire an infection from an aerosol produced by a toilet.

MeSH Terms

Adsorption Aerosols Bacterial Infections/transmission Coliphages/growth & development Escherichia coli/growth & development Poliovirus Polysorbates/pharmacology Toilet Facilities Virus Diseases/transmission

Chemicals

Aerosols Polysorbates

Authors & Affiliations

3 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID

Gerba C P

Wallis C

Melnick J L

References (18)

18 references, click to expand

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Article Info

Journal

Applied microbiology

Abbr.

Appl Microbiol

ISSN

0003-6919

DOI

10.1128/am.30.2.229-237.1975

Published

1975-08-00

Pages

229-37

Language

English

Region

United States

NLM ID

7605802

PMCID

PMC187159

Subset

External Links

PubMed source DOI: 10.1128/am.30.2.229-237.1975 PMC Full Text

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Microbiological hazards of household toilets: droplet production and the fate of residual organisms.

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