Beware Of Self Serve Fountain Drinks!

STUDY: Nearly half of soda fountains contaminated with fecal matter
By Dr. Kim Mulvihill
SAN FRANCISCO -- Many of us have filled up our cups at the local gas station. But those self-serve soda fountains may be serving up a lot of bacteria.

Researchers from Hollins University in Virginia tested more than 100 beverages from self-serve and staff-serve dispensers. What they found coming out of these machines is pretty unappetizing.

"We obtained soda fountain beverages from a wide variety of fast food establishments and found that a significant number of the drinks had levels of bacteria, including coliforms, which would not be allowed in municipal drinking water," said Dr. Renee Godard, professor of biology and director of environmental studies at Hollins, and a co-author of the study. "To our knowledge, no one has looked at bacterial contamination from soda fountain machines before, and our results may have public health implications. They signal the need for regulations that enforce the manufacturer's recommended cleaning regimens for these beverage dispensers."

They found 48 percent of the beverages contained fecal matter.

More than 11 percent were contaminated with E. coli and 17 percent were tainted with a bacteria known to cause meningitis.

Most of the bacteria showed resistance to one or more of the 11 antibiotics tested.

In these drinks, they also found smaller amounts of other kinds of germs including staphylococcus, klebsiella and candida.

Lesser-Known Bug A Bigger Hospital Threat Than MRSA

By MIKE STOBBE
AP Medical Writer
ATLANTA (AP) - As one superbug seems to be fading as a threat in hospitals, another is on the rise, a new study suggests.

A dangerous, drug-resistant staph infection called MRSA is often seen as the biggest germ threat to patients in hospitals and other health care facilities. But infections from Clostridium difficile _ known as C-diff _ are surpassing MRSA infections, the study of 28 hospitals in the Southeast found.

"I think MRSA is almost a household name. Everybody thinks of MRSA as a serious threat," said Dr. Becky Miller, an infectious diseases specialist at Duke University Medical Center. She presented the research Saturday in Atlanta, at a medical conference on infection in health care facilities. "But C. difficile deserves more attention," she added.

MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, are bacteria that can't be treated with common antibiotics. They are often harmless as they ride on the skin, but become deadly once they get in the bloodstream. They enter through wounds, intravenous lines and other paths.

C-diff, also resistant to some antibiotics, is found in the colon and can cause diarrhea and a more serious intestinal condition known as colitis. It is spread by spores in feces. The spores are difficult to kill with most conventional household cleaners or alcohol-based hand sanitizers, so some of the disinfection measures against MRSA don't work on C-diff.

MRSA at Beaches

An associated press article from San Francisco, published in my local newspaper on Sunday Sept. 13, 2009 states "staph germs found on beaches."

"Dangerous staph bacteria have been found in sand and water for the first time at five public beaches along the coast of Washington, and scientists think the state is not the only one with this problem."

"The germ is MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus-- a hard-to-treat bug once rarely seen outside of hospitals but that increasingly is spreading in ordinary community settings such as schools, locker rooms and gyms."

"The germ causes nasty skin infections as well as pneumonia and other life-threatening problems. It spreads mostly through human contact. Little is known about environmental sources that also may harbor the germ."

Marilyn Roberts, a microbiologist at the University of Washington is quoted as saying "We don't know the risk... but the fact that we found these organisms suggests that the level is much higher than we thought."

The article further says "People should not avoid beaches or be afraid to enjoy them, scientists say." This is where I have to disagree! I have dealt with this germ with my own family and it absolutely terrifies me. MRSA is a very agressive germ. All it needs is the tiniest of scratches or pinpricks and it gets under your skin and causes a huge abscess! It is very hard to get rid of and the whole experience is a nightmare. Everything has to be sanitized constantly because you don't know where it could be lurking.

My advice is: Avoid any place that is known to have MRSA!