Rants and Ramblings: random commentary about culture, media, politics, technology and whatnot.

shower buddies

A new study on shower curtain soap gunge has found that the gunge often is hiding millions of potentially harmful bacteria. (San Diego Union-Tribune: “Shower study finds what’s been lurking behind the curtain” - 05/02/04)

The researchers scrutinized key pieces of genetic material in each bacterium they found. They uncovered a surprisingly large, diverse community of hundreds to thousands of potentially harmful species, which sent them pronto to the store to replace their vinyl shields.

About 80 percent of the organisms they found in the flaky scum were in the same genetic families as those known to infect wounds or cause problems for people with AIDS, cancer or other immune system disorders…

“Our results suggest that shower curtains harbor potential opportunistic pathogens that can threaten immune-compromised or otherwise ill patients,” the researchers wrote. “Exposure can be minimized by regular cleaning or by exchanging shower curtains.”

It may be an overly sensationalized story — I mean, there’s bacteria everywhere, and the researchers emphasize concerns only for people with immunity problems — but it’s still nasty to think about. :p

(Link found via Slashdot.)