Sunday, March 27, 2011
Leg Wont Stop Twitching
What child has not had to learn to play the flute at school? And how many of them have shared in more than one occasion? From now on, surely, many parents are going to beg them not to lend their musical wind instruments to colleagues because, while feed and nurture children's minds, they can be potentially hazardous to health.
Thomas Glass and his team at the University of Oklahoma (USA), published a study in the latest 'General Dentristry' which notes that both wind instruments brass, such as wood, are contaminated with a variety of bacteria and fungi, many of which are associated with infectious and allergic diseases.
"Many children participate in their school orchestras, and often the instruments they play are a loan," says Dr. Glass. "Most of them have gone through different students, and without adequate sanitation, bacteria and fungi can grow for weeks or even months after its last use," he adds.
U.S. researcher admits that "there has been a growing interest in establishing the mechanisms of transmission of microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi and viruses, but little is known about the specific risks sharing wind instruments. "
Proper hygiene
Thus, the scientists analyzed 117 separate parts (nozzles, inner chambers ...) 13 different instruments (clarinets, saxophones, trumpets, horns, etc.), belonging to boys and girls in a band school. The data show that six of them had been played one week prior to the completion of the trial, while seven had not been used in about a month.
The study revealed that the instruments were 442 different bacteria, mainly of the genus streptococci, as well as 58 fungi and 19 yeasts. "Parents do not realize that fungi in the instrument of their children may contribute to asthma development," says principal investigator. Also, the yeast can cause infections in the skin around the lips and mouth. More alarming is "that many of the microorganisms found are highly resistant to some or most commonly used antibiotics, including methicillin, is clarified in the trial.
Another argument for that "cleaned after each use to reduce the number of microbes," the researchers advise. "And not only the nozzle, and the bacteria invade the entire instrument, scientists added. As a curiosity, the researchers clarified that "during the study had no access to medical records of children who had used the instruments, but the professor assured us that the band at any given time, over 50% of students were being treated for a respiratory disease. Therefore, the authors argue in their conclusions that should do tests to determine the microbial concentration in young musicians before and after the orchestra to play. "Also, it should investigate the medical history of all components of it to confirm information Anecdotal obtained from the teacher. " http://www.elmundo.es/elmundosalud/2011/03/25/noticias/1301081435.html
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