ISLAMABAD: Researchers discovered that reusable water bottles contain 40,000 times more bacteria than an average toilet seat, according to a report published in HuffPost.
Waterfilterguru.com collected samples from various types of reusable water bottles, including the spout lid, screw-top lid, stray lid, and squeeze-top lid, and discovered bacteria of two types, gram-negative rod,s and bacillus.
Associate Professor Keong Yap of Australian Catholic University, a clinical psychologist and hoarding disorder expert, believes that “they are objects that can’t betray us,” comparing them to the objects children use to soothe anxiety, which are prone to bacteria. “They are predictable and reliable, unlike people who can hurt us,” he added.
According to the researchers, gram-negative bacterial infections are resistant to antibiotics, and certain types of bacillus bacteria may cause “gastrointestinal infections.” The researchers found that usable water bottles carry two times more germs than household objects and more than a comparable number of germs carried by kitchen sinks.
Water bottles contain four more times bacteria than a computer
According to the study, the bottles contain four times more bacteria than a computer mouse and up to 14 times more bacteria than a pet’s bowl.
Dr Andrew Edwards, a molecular microbiologist at Imperial College London, has observed that because the human mouth carries various types of bacteria, it is not beyond understanding that drinking bottles also harbor these bacteria.
Despite their large number of colonies, these bacteria and germs are not considered harmful to human health, according to Dr Simon Clarke, a microbiologist at the University of Reading. He maintained that no one has reported ever becoming ill as a result of the water bottle, and that taps, similarly, do not pose such a risk to human health.
Bottles containing bacteria, it is likely that they are already inside people’s mouths, Clarke said, expressing and conveying the message that people should not be concerned.
According to the study, “the bottles with squeezed-top tend to be cleaner, with one-tenth the number of bacteria as a screw-top or straw-fitted lid.” In their study, the researchers recommended that people wash their water bottles with hot soapy water on a daily basis and sanitize them once a week.
