Showerheads and toothbrushes are teeming with hundreds of different types of viruses However, these viruses mainly target bacteria, not people The viruses could help humans combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria WEDNESDAY, Oct. 9, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- The bad news first: shower heads and toothbrushes in an average bathroom are teeming with an extremely diverse collection of viruses, most of which have never been seen before, a new study finds. Now, the good news.
These viruses target bacteria, not people, and could provide a new means of confronting the rise in antibiotic-resistant germs, researchers report. These microorganisms are bacteriophage, or “phage,” a type of virus that infects bacteria, researchers explained. Phage have recently garnered attention for their potential use in fighting bacteria that have developed resistance to common antibiotics, researchers noted.
“The number of viruses that we found is absolutely wild,” said lead researcher , an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering with Northwestern University in Chicago. “We found many viruses that we know very little about and many others that we have never seen before,” Hartmann added in a Northwestern news release. “It’s amazing how much untapped biodiversity is all around us.
And you don’t even have to go far to find it; it’s right under our noses.” For the study, researchers analyzed used toothbrushes and sample swabs taken from shower heads, to see what sort of g.
