23-10-2019, 01:59 PM
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Poor toilet hygiene behind E. coli superbug spread
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-50140871Experts looked at thousands of blood, faecal and food samples. They found human-to-human transmission was responsible - "faecal particles from one person reaching the mouth of another".
There are many different strains of E. coli. Most are harmless but some can cause serious illness. Antibiotic-resistant E. coli is increasingly common and E. coli is the most common cause of blood poisoning, accounting for about one third of cases in the UK.
In the study, the team analysed 20,000 human faecal samples and 300 blood samples plus hundreds of sewage samples, animal slurry and meats including beef, pork and chicken - as well fruit and salad.
One strain - ST131 - was seen in the majority of human samples from all three sources. It is found in the gut but can, usually via urinary tract infections, cause serious infections.
However, the strains found in meat, cattle and animal slurry were mostly different.
Prof David Livermore, from the University of East Anglia's Norwich Medical School, who led the research, said: "Critically - there's little crossover between strains from humans, chickens and cattle.
"Rather - and unpalatably - the likeliest route of transmission for ESBL-E. coli is directly from human to human, with faecal particles from one person reaching the mouth of another."
This article has not been decontaminated.
NOW WASH YOUR HANDS
NOW WASH YOUR HANDS
23-10-2019, 02:37 PM
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Re: Poor toilet hygiene behind E. coli superbug spread
OK, Just scrubbed my hands, Omah.
I imagine we could be surprised at just how many people don't wash their hands after using the loo.
I think there could sometimes be many genuine reasons for forgetting, e.g. the phone goes, or the door bell rings and they dash to answer it, (no excuse I know), or the elderly who live alone and may have dementia or cannot stand at the basin on their own for long enough.
I remember getting my poor old Mum a 'Perching Stool' because her legs would support her at the sink otherwise.
Then there's the people working outside like perhaps builders who may use one of those porta cabin thingy's who might have no proper washing facilities - then they sit in their trucks and eat their pack-ups!
There are also those that be miles away from a clean toilet - like farmers, or people fishing, or landscapers.
I always wonder about the roadside salesmen too. People like hot dog stalls, ice cream and/or burger vans and so on.
Where do they go to the toilet?
I have even seen nurses go from one bed to the next without washing.
Again, going back to my Mum, when she was in hospital in her late 80's, she contracted C-Diff AND E.Coli.
It wasn't diagnosed until I insisted a stool sample was analysed, and then she was isolated, but think of how any people she might have infected in that ward before isolation, let alone me being given her soiled laundry to bring home and wash!
Having said that, there are maybe also some just plain dirty buggers who couldn't care less about hygiene.
Isn't this why they say never eat the peanuts on a pub bar?
I am very aware of hygiene as we had to practice strict hygiene when I worked in a care home, and we had to also learn about food hygiene and cross contamination, and all sorts, but I guess there will always be those who don't bother. I like to think most of us do, though.
23-10-2019, 05:11 PM
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Re: Poor toilet hygiene behind E. coli superbug spread
Indeed - there are many occasions when hand-washing facilities simply aren't available. In my case that would be country walks when my hands handle all sorts of "soiled" objects - trees, bushes, walls, fences, gates - before I nip behind a bush for a jimmy then settle down to a cheese and pickle sandwich .....
But ..... I carry biodegradable wet wipes for use when personal hygiene must prevail .....
As for those who rarely wash their hands and "leave their mark" wherever they go, they are as you say "dirty buggers" .....
25-10-2019, 03:00 PM
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Re: Poor toilet hygiene behind E. coli superbug spread
You shouldn’t ever touch someone else’s smartphone, here’s whyhttps://metro.co.uk/2018/12/03/you-s...s-why-8202160/
Smartphones are almost seven times dirtier than toilet seats – and because the bacteria comes from their owners (mostly), it’s a seriously bad idea to pass them around. Smartphones inside moist leather cases were the worst. The average toilet seat has 220 bacteria hotspots, while phones had 1,479.
Dr Karmakar says, ‘Even if you’re not using your phone on the toilet, you’re still holding it while you’re going in and out of the bathroom, and that’s enough to put bacteria on the phone when you haven’t yet washed your hands. Lots of us do it, but it’s a really bad idea. Phone covers and cases are usually made out of rubber, which is a warm and comfortable harbouring ground for bacteria.’
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