” There are many types of showerheads on the market, leaving customers to choose on the type of spray pattern, material, circulation rate, and ingredients like bacteria-killing chemicals they desire,” Haig discussed. “But, its unidentified how these choices impact the threat of DWPIs direct exposure.”
In this shower, its not Norman Bates you need to stress over
DWPIs are a high cost not simply to our health, but to the United States economy, costing $2.93 billion annually.
Theyre likewise incredibly tough to eliminate. Despite the large range of chemical and physical processes used to treat drinking water, DWPIs can endure and continue to grow and prosper in plumbing systems.
There are lots of DWPIs of issue, Legionella pneumophila, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) trigger the most respiratory infections. Nevertheless, as NTM causes 57 percent of all US waterborne illness deaths, it will be the main focus for Haig and her group.
” The goal for those of us who work in public health and prevention is to have methods to limit exposure to these germs either physically or chemically so that we manage the direct exposure and consequently control the threat of illness,” said Janet Stout, a regular partner of Haigs and executive vice president and creator of the Special Pathogens Laboratory. “Professor Haigs research study in checking these materials is lining up with those objectives.”
Direct exposure to DWPIs can originate from a variety of sources, but inhalation of water-associated aerosols are most frequently related to infection. DWPI aerosolization and their relationship to showerhead functions are badly understood.
To bridge this understanding space, Haig and her group will test showerheads with various features and compare the concentration of DWPIs present in shower water and shower water-produced aerosols.
Dr. Janet Lee, Chief, department of important and pulmonary care medication, Selma and Herman Seldin Distinguished Professor in Medicine, professor of pathology and immunology at Washington University in St. Louis and co-principal investigator of this task, stated this job will bring valuable insights for society to minimize its danger of DWPI exposure.
“This understanding will empower people to choose showerheads that prioritize their health while improving our overall understanding of how our choices in the developed environment effect our wellness,” Lee stated.
Haig leads Pitts Investigating Home Water and Aerosols Links to Opportunistic Pathogen Exposure (INHALE) Lab. The 250-square-foot laboratory, which has 3 full-size shower cubicles each supplied by its own hot water heater, will be used in this task.
The study was moneyed by the National Science Foundation.
Sarah Haig, an Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh, has actually gotten a $420,000 grant from the NSF to lead a three-year research study comparing different showerhead functions and their effect on concentrations of unsafe bacteria, referred to as DWPIs, in shower water and its aerosols. These germs can position serious health risks, particularly to people with weakened body immune systems, and are significantly hard to kill, making it through in plumbing systems in spite of water treatment processes.
Stepping into a shower, we often seek the reassuring embrace of warm water after a taxing day– but there may be something unsafe lurking in the showerhead.
While the majority of germs found in showers are benign, specific ones, described as drinking water-associated pathogens of the immunocompromised (DWPIs)– can present a major danger to our health, especially for individuals with weakened immune systems.
Sarah Haig, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, got $420,000 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to lead a three-year research study to check different showerhead functions to compare concentrations of DWPIs present in shower water and the aerosols it produces.