Loofah sponges as reservoirs and vehicles in the transmission of potentially pathogenic bacterial species to human skin.
Abstract
Loofah sponges are natural products used as exfoliative beauty aids. As a consequence of tracing a case of Pseudomonas aeruginosa folliculitis to a contaminated loofah sponge, we assessed the role of loofah sponges in supporting the growth of a wide variety of bacterial species. Our data show growth enhancement of sterile loofah fragments for numerous gram-negative (Pseudomonas, Xanthomonas, and Klebsiella) and gram-positive (Enterococcus and group B Streptococcus) species of human and environmental origin. Furthermore, hydrated new, unused loofah sponges undergo a shift in bacterial flora from sparse colonies of Bacillus spp. and Staphylococcus epidermidis to a predominantly gram-negative flora. The growth-promoting potential of loofah sponges (and other exfoliatives) can be further augmented by desquamated epithelial cells entrapped in the loofah fibrous matrix. Therefore, as loofah sponges (and other exfoliatives) can serve as a reservoir and a vehicle for the transmission of potentially pathogenic species to the human skin, we recommend their decontamination with hypochlorite (10%) bleach at regular intervals.
Full text
Full text is available as a scanned copy of the original print version. Get a printable copy (PDF file) of the complete article (963K), or click on a page image below to browse page by page. Links to PubMed are also available for Selected References.
Images in this article
Click on the image to see a larger version.
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Bottone EJ, Perez AA., 2nd Pseudomonas aeruginosa folliculitis acquired through use of a contaminated loofah sponge: an unrecognized potential public health problem. J Clin Microbiol. 1993 Mar;31(3):480–483. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Byrd JJ, Xu HS, Colwell RR. Viable but nonculturable bacteria in drinking water. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1991 Mar;57(3):875–878. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Scupham R, Fretzin D, Weinstein RA. Caribbean sponge-related Pseudomonas folliculitis. JAMA. 1987 Sep 25;258(12):1607–1608. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Sheth KJ, Miller RJ, Sheth NK, Remenuik E, Massanari RM. Pseudomonas aeruginosa otitis externa in an infant associated with a contaminated infant bath sponge. Pediatrics. 1986 Jun;77(6):920–921. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]