CU study uncovers health threat in shower heads
By RMI Staff 
| September 14, 2009 | 3:11 PM
Careful when you step into the shower. You might not be alone.
The shower head could be spraying you with bacteria that has been linked to pulmonary disease, a University of Colorado study has found.
The research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, turned up high levels of Mycobacterium avium in homes and public showers in Denver and eight other U.S. cities. All of them used a public water supply, not private wells.
The bacteria can cause fatigue, a dry cough and shortness of breath, and chlorine doesn’t take care of the problem. Infections may be on the rise because more people take showers than baths these days, the CU researchers said.
People with healthy immune systems should be able to ward off the bacteria, but the scientists recommend changing shower heads periodically just to make sure.
Read more at colorado.edu.
chlorine, denver, public water supply, shower bacteria, shower heads, university of colorado
