It started with research into an outbreak in Canada that infected 36 people and killed 12. They knew it came from the sinks, but could not figure out how. No amount of cleaning or disinfection seemed to wipe out the bacteria.
Now, with a new study published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, researchers may finally have an answer to superbugs’ sink-dwelling skills: They survive in P-traps and can quickly climb pipes. More specifically, researchers at the University of Virginia found that bacteria can happily colonize a sink’s P-trap and then sneak back up the pipe and into the drain by forming a protective, creeping film, called a biofilm, on the plumbing. Once they get to the drain, they only need a burst of water to scatter up into the sink and surrounding, touchable surfaces.
It will be interesting to see how this type of analysis changes sink design moving forward.
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