Introduction: Clostridium difficile is the leading cause of health care-associated gastric illness. Environmental contamination with C difficile spores is a risk factor for contact transmission, and toilet flushing causes such contamination. This work explores toilet contamination persistence and environmental contamination produced over a series of flushes after contamination.

Methods: A flushometer toilet was seeded with C difficile spores in a sealed chamber. The toilet was flushed 24times, with postflush bowl water samples and settle plates periodically collected for culturing and counting. Air samples were collected after each of 12 flushes using rotating plate impactors.

Results: Spores were present in bowl water even after 24 flushes. Large droplet spore deposition accumulated over the 24-flush period. Droplet nuclei spore bioaerosol was produced over at least 12 flushes.

Conclusions: Toilets contaminated with C difficile spores are a persistent source of environmental contamination over an extended number of flushes.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2018.11.009DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

environmental contamination
16
difficile spores
16
bowl water
12
clostridium difficile
8
contamination
6
toilet
5
difficile
5
spores
5
toilet plume
4
plume aerosol
4

Similar Publications

Exposure to toxins causes lasting damaging effects on the body. Numerous studies in humans and animals suggest that diet has the potential to modify the epigenome and these modifications can be inherited transgenerationally, but few studies investigate how diet can protect against negative effects of toxins. Potential evidence in the primary literature supports that caloric restriction, high-fat diets, high protein-to-carbohydrate ratios, and dietary supplementation protect against environmental toxins and strengthen these effects on their offspring's epigenome.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Aims: Exposure to air pollution including diesel engine exhaust (DEE) is associated with increased risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Few studies have investigated the risk of AMI according to occupational exposure to DEE. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between occupational exposure to DEE and the risk of first-time AMI.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In this systematic review, advancements in plastic recycling technologies, including mechanical, thermolysis, chemical and biological methods, are examined. Comparisons among recycling technologies have identified current research trends, including a focus on pretreatment technologies for waste materials and the development of new organic chemistry or biological techniques that enable recycling with minimal energy consumption. Existing environmental and economic studies are also compared.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Associations between anthropogenic heat emissions and serum lipids among adults in northeastern China.

Int J Environ Health Res

January 2025

Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center of Environmental Pollution and Health Risk Assessment, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.

Few epidemiological studies have investigated associations between anthropogenic heat emissions (AE) and serum lipids. We recruited 15,477 adults from 33 communities in northeastern China in 2009. We estimated AE flux by using data on energy consumption and socio-economic statistics covering building, transportation, industry, and human metabolism.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Pollution, stress response, and obesity: A systematic review.

Obes Rev

January 2025

Inserm UMR 1256 Nutrition-Genetics-Environmental Risk Exposure (N-G-ERE), University of Lorraine, Nancy, France.

Limited literature addresses the association between pollution, stress, and obesity, and knowledge synthesis on the associations between these three topics has yet to be made. Two reviewers independently conducted a systematic review of MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science Core Collection databases to identify studies dealing with the effects of semi-volatile organic compounds, pesticides, conservatives, and heavy metals on the psychosocial stress response and adiposity in humans, animals, and cells. The quality of papers and risk assessment were evaluated with ToxRTool, BEES-C instrument score, SYRCLE's risk of bias tool, and CAMARADES checklist.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!