Toothbrushes And Showerheads Are Covered In Bacteria-Fighting Viruses, Study Finds

WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Researchers at Northwestern University have discovered that over 600 species of bacteria-targeting viruses are lurking in common bathroom items, such as toothbrushes and showerheads.

They explained that these microorganisms are known as bacteriophage, or 'phage,' a type of virus that infects bacteria, providing a potential new way to tackle antibiotic-resistant germs.

For the study, published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiomes, researchers collected swab samples from used toothbrushes and shower heads to analyze the presence of microorganisms.

'This project started as a curiosity,' lead researcher Erica Hartmann said. 'We wanted to know what microbes are living in our homes. If you think about indoor environments, surfaces like tables and walls are really difficult for microbes to live on. Microbes prefer environments with water. And where is there water? Inside our shower heads and on our toothbrushes.'

The researchers used DNA sampling to identify the type of germs on these bathroom items. They found that phages infecting mycobacteria, which causes diseases like leprosy, tuberculosis and chronic lung infections, were commonly present.

'Toothbrushes and showerheads harbor phage that are unlike anything we've seen before. Not only did we find different phage on toothbrushes and showerheads, we found different phage on each toothbrush and each showerhead,' Hartmann said.

'This amount of diversity is huge, and it isn't because of anything specific to toothbrushes or showerheads. There are just so many phage out there waiting to be discovered.'

Hartmann further recommended people cleaning their showerheads with plain water and soap instead of bleach, and using a regular toothbrush instead of an antimicrobial brush.

'Microbes are everywhere, and the vast majority of them will not make us sick,' she advised. 'The more you attack them with disinfectants, the more they are likely to develop resistance or become more difficult to treat. We should all just embrace them.'

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