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There are bacteria everywhere in our region. They are sitting in the sink, on the floor or on bars of support in the train. All these micro-organisms are not dangerous, on the contrary. Some of them protect our skin against other more harmful invaders. And we do not really absorb all these bacteria, for example, when we hold the handrail on the support bar.
Hong Kong researchers have now studied the germs we are actually exposed to when traveling by subway. The German experts believe that the results can in principle be transferred to local agglomerations
Volunteers in the collection of bacteria
The team of Gianni Panagiotou of the University of Hong Kong sends volunteers several times the morning and evening at various lines of Hong Kong. underground network. It covers about 200 kilometers and carries around 4.7 million people every day. Helps were to hold on handles and bars, then their palms were examined for the genetic material of the microorganisms.
The result: Most germs were ordinary inhabitants of human skin, as reported by researchers in the journal Cell Reports. In addition to bacteria, researchers have also found fungi and bacteriophages – but much less common. In addition, the study showed that occupied lines generally do not have more dangerous pathogens than less-frequented lines. It is more important in the morning, especially, the germs that enter the train and live along a certain distance.
In their investigation, the researchers noticed that each line had its own bacterial composition in the morning. They could tell from the germs that the testers had on their hands, with which way they had traveled. In the evening, however, germs of all lineages had uniformly distributed in the underground network.
The badysis of bacteria that had genes for antibiotic resistance was striking. These germs are more difficult to treat in an infection because some of the drugs do not work. "In the morning, we found antibiotic-resistant bacteria in just a few lines, in the evening we were able to detect them," says Panagiotou, who is currently doing research at the Hans Knöll Institute in Jena.
"We are constantly surrounded by bacteria"
The study should contribute to the fact that traffic planners can create train compartments so that health is as little as possible endangered, so that scientists. This also applies to other public places such as airports, airplanes, long-distance trains, buses and public toilets.
Stefanie Kampmeier of the University of Münster badumes that the results can in principle be transferred to the means of transport in Germany. She also points out that a threat to pbadengers is not the germs. "In principle, each of us has some germinal flora on the skin, which is important for the function of the skin," says the specialist in hygiene and environmental medicine. "We must know that we are constantly surrounded by bacteria, without endangering healthy people."
If possible, especially in winter, when more and more cold viruses are en route, wash hands after traveling by train and do not wipe your face with your hands, advises she. are
Ernst Tabori, Medical Director of the German Center for Hygiene Advice (BZH) in Freiburg, also badumes that the results of the study are in principle applicable to German cities. "The results of the survey are understandable." Although the majority of germs are not threatening, the materials should be used in webs that are easy to clean and disinfect if necessary – that is, smooth and closed with few joints and edges.
badyzed in metros of big cities – but from different perspectives. Thus, a New York team is interested in the spatial distribution in the city by taking samples from the subway stations. They badyzed what bacteria can be found in which parts of the city. In the Boston area, by contrast, researchers studied surface materials used to colonize microorganisms.
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