Scientists say household drains are commonly contaminated with infectious fungus called Fusarium which can kill people with weak immune systems.
Fusarium has been known for causing infections in agricultural crops, but some species of the fungus can cause difficult to treat infections which are potentially dangerous and can cause death in humans.
In a recent study, researchers at Pennsylvania State University examined about bathroom 500 sink drains in 131 businesses, homes, university dormitories and public facilities across the US.
Results revealed that at least one Fusarium isolate was found in 66 percent of the drains and in 82 percent of the buildings.
About 70 percent of the isolated funguses were also from species most frequently associated with human infections, the authors reported in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology.
”With about two-thirds of sinks found to harbor Fusarium, it's clear that those buildings' inhabitants are exposed to these fungi on a regular basis,” said senior researcher Dylan Short.
“This strongly supports the hypothesis that plumbing-surface biofilms serve as reservoirs for human pathogenic fusaria,” he concluded.
The study could not prove that sink drains were the source of eye infections or any other health condition related to Fusarium.
The findings, however, may offer a potential clue about why the mold led to previous eye infections in humans, said the scientists who suggested that probably people who got the infections weren't replacing the lens solution in the case, so it lost its ability to disinfect.
SJM/TE