Emily Chan
Everyone knows that toilets are a breeding ground for bacteria and germs. It’s the receptacle we all use to excrete waste, so of course, they’re gross.
If toilets are not cleaned and maintained properly, particularly the ones in public bathrooms, they can become a source of infection and a spot for superbugs to thrive.
In the public bathrooms of hospitals in the U.K., harmful bacteria, fungi, and drug-resistant superbugs have been found.
They lurk on floors, ceilings, door handles, and the surfaces of toilets. Researchers collected samples from toilets in three general hospitals in Lanarkshire, a county in the south of Scotland.
The team swabbed surfaces in six types of toilets. Then, they swabbed the toilets again around four hours after they had been cleaned.
The surfaces included the flush handle, door handle, sink faucet, handrail, shelves, tops of doors, floors, and air vents.
The surfaces they examined were in male and female bathrooms for hospital patients and staff members, as well as in unisex bathrooms and bathrooms for disabled individuals.
Testing revealed that several surfaces contained dangerous bacteria like E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus.
There were also multiple species that are known to cause chest infections, bloodstream infections, urinary tract infections, and pneumonia.
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