Antibiotic-resistant bacteria have been found in more than three-quarters of the homes surveyed in a small study in Germany, and seem to particularly thrive in shower drains.
Drug-resistant bacteria are commonly detected in hospitals and crowded places like trains and shopping centres, but little is known about their prevalence in home environments.
To find out more, Dirk Bockm眉hl at the Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences in Germany and his colleagues took swabs from shower drains, dishwashers and washing machines in 54 private homes.
Advertisement
They detected antibiotic-resistant bacteria in 82 per cent of the homes, mostly in shower drains. A DNA analysis showed that there were twice as many antibiotic-resistance genes present in shower drains as in dishwashers. The shower drain had 400 times more antibiotic-resistant genes than the washing machine.
Shower drains are attractive homes for bacteria because they are warm, humid environments with a steady supply of nutrients, including dead skin cells and other organic matter washing from people鈥檚 bodies, says Bockm眉hl. Bacteria in shower drains may develop antibiotic resistance due to repeated exposure to antibacterial agents from soaps and cleaning products, he says.
Most of the antibiotic-resistant bacteria found in the shower drains were environmental bacteria that don鈥檛 normally infect people. But low levels of clinically relevant bacteria were also detected, including multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli, which can cause urinary tract infections, and multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which can cause pneumonia.
Assuming the results from the study reflect an abundance of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in many homes around the world, most people shouldn鈥檛 worry too much, says Bockm眉hl, 鈥渆specially considering that we might come into contact with antibiotic-resistant bacteria quite often in everyday life鈥�. However, people who are more prone to infections 鈥� like pregnant women and elderly people 鈥� should avoid touching shower drains, he says.
In addition to potential infection risks inside the home, there is also the possibility that antibiotic-resistant bacteria may wash down household drains into wastewater and spread into the wider environment, says Bockm眉hl. His team is now conducting research to see how far antibiotic-resistant bacteria from domestic drains can spread.
Reference:
