Reusable bottles: Hotbed of Germs

According to a study conducted by Water Filter Guru , a US-based firm, a water bottle can be home to twice as many germs as the kitchen sink, four times the amount of bacteria as a computer mouse, and 14 times more than a pet's drinking bowl. Worse, #reusablewaterbottles can have 40,000 times more bacteria than the average toilet seat. The findings reveal that contaminated bottle infections outnumber other sources of contaminations like toys and bags. Given the toxic consequences of reusing these bottles,?the study advises users to wash the bottle at least once a day with hot soapy water, and sanitizing it at least once a week.?

It is interesting how the study went about examining the presence of bacteria in the bottle. The researchers used different parts of water bottles including the #spoutlid, #screwtoplid, #straylid and #squeezetoplid, three times each, and found two types of bacteria present-gram-negative #rods and #bacillus.

• While the former can cause #lethalinfections that are known to resist antibiotics, the latter can cause gastrointestinal issue
• Some experts however believe the bottle contamination need not be as serious as the findings have hinted at?
• In fact, a few experts contend that water bottle contaminations are more likely to result from the bacteria resident in people's mouths

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