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November, 2004
By Megan Rauscher
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Bottled mineral water, generally considered purer than tap water, is often contaminated with bacteria and fungi, a Dutch researcher warned Monday.
"Hospital water is increasingly accepted as a source for pathogens," Dr. Rocus R. Klont commented to Reuters Health. Consequently, patients with compromised immune systems "often receive bottled mineral water under the assumption that it is safer than tap water," the investigator added at a meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Washington, DC.
To evaluate the risk of infection from bottled water, Klont, from the University Medical Center Nijmegen, and colleagues looked for bacterial and fungal contamination in 68 commercial mineral waters, one tap water, and one water sample from a natural well. The samples came from nine European and seven non-European countries.
"We found high levels of bacterial contamination in commercially bottled mineral water," Klont told Reuters Health.
Overall, 40 percent of all samples showed evidence of contamination with either bacteria or fungi. Bacteria could be grown in lab cultures from 21 samples.
"These findings indicate that the general perception that bottled water is safe and clean is not true," Klont noted.
"The risk of disease to healthy individuals may be limited, but immunocompromised patients are generally more susceptible to infection and therefore might be at higher risk of becoming infected," he added.
Copyright 2004 Reuters.
By Marilyn Ellas
The office water cooler may be pouring our enough bacteria to make people ill, suggests a study out Wednesday. Fred Rosenberg, Northeastern University, Boston, tested 10 campus coolers over two months. He found 2,000 to 1 million bacteria per milliliter, he told American Society of Microbiology in New Orleans.
The Food and Drug Administration considers bacteria levels over 10,000 a possible concern, says Curtis Coker. "With numbers like he got, you'd want to look at sanitation."
Worst offenders, coolers with bottles replaced often, as bacteria feed on new water. "The lower numbers were in bottles before they were put in the dispenser," said Rosenberg. Bacteria multiplied rapidly in reservoirs and faucets.
Most at risk: elderly, infants, people with AIDS or on chemotherapy. But even healthy adults could developintestinal ailments like diarrhea, he says.
"Over 900,000 people become sick in U.S. every year from contaminated water"
- The Center for Disease Control
"About 49 million Americans drink water containing radioactive radon.and millions more with radium and uranium"
- National Resources Defense Council
"Decaying water systems risk health in U.S. and Europe, report says."
- The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
"Arsenic, a known human carcinogen and toxin, is found at significant levels in the tap water of over 50 million Americans"
- National Resource Defense Council
"Cancer risk among people drinking chlorinated water is 93% higher than among those whose water does not contain chlorine."
- U.S. Council of Environmental Quality
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