https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/acmi/10.1099/acmi.fis2019.po0192 1887 Microbiology Society logo * search icon [ ] search icon * account icon * shopping cart icon * + Publications o Microbiology o Journal of General Virology o Journal of Medical Microbiology o Microbial Genomics o International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology o Access Microbiology, an open research platform o JMM Case Reports o Browse Collections + About us o The Microbiology Society o Why publish? o Joining our Editorial Boards + Information for authors o Article types o Prepare an article o Submission and peer review o Post-acceptance and publication o Open Access costs o Fee-free Open Access o Ethics policies o Impact and metrics + Information for librarians o Licensing and access options o Licence agreements o Manage your subscription o Publish and Read o List of Publish and Read institutions o Library FAQs + Information for reviewers + Open Access o Publish Open Access in our journals o Open Access costs o Publish and Read o Open Access reporting o Publish and Read FAQ + FAQs + Contact us * Publications + Microbiology + Journal of General Virology + Journal of Medical Microbiology + Microbial Genomics + International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology + Access Microbiology, an open research platform + JMM Case Reports + Browse Collections * Information for authors + Article types + Prepare an article + Submission and peer review + Post-acceptance and publication + Open Access costs + Fee-free Open Access + Ethics policies + Impact and metrics * Microbiology Society Toggle navigation Tools Access Microbiology open research platform logo Volume 2, Issue 2 Meeting Report Open Access Real-time Monitoring of Aerosols Generated from Toilet Flushing Open Access * Mehael Fennelly^1,2, Stig Hellebust^1, John Sodeau^1, Michael Prentice^2,3 * View Affiliations Hide Affiliations Affiliations: ^1 Environmental Research Institute, School of Chemistry, University College Cork ^2 Department of Pathology, University College Cork, Cork ^3 APC Microbiome Institute, University College Cork, Cork *Correspondence: mehael fennelly, [email protected] * Published: 28 February 2020 https://doi.org/10.1099/ acmi.fis2019.po0192 * info Info + Article information + Full-Text + Figures and Tables + References + Cited By + Supplementary Material + Metrics * list Sections * * build Tools Tools + Add to my favourites + Create Publication Alert Create Citation Alert Create Correction Alert + Export citation o BibT[E]X o Endnote o Zotero o RefWorks o Mendeley + Recommend to library + Reprints & Permissions + * share Share Share Abstract Flushing toilets generate visible droplets from turbulent flow, but also produce numerous smaller airborne droplets (~micrometres in size) through atomisation. Flushing may aerosolise pathogens from stool or urine, spreading disease. This study continuously monitored aerosols in a shared office lavatory over a week using a biological particle detector, the Wideband Integrated Bioaerosol Sensor (WIBS). This instrument monitors individual particle sizes and numbers and identifies fluorescent particles likely to be droplets containing bacteria. The toilet was a standard wash-down design, (Armitage Shanks), with a lid. No statistically significant variation between fluorescent particle counts was found between periods prior to flushing. Fluorescent particle numbers and intensity increased with toilet flushing, remaining above background for 5 minutes post-flushing on average. Placing the toilet lid down significantly (P<0.001) reduced total and fluorescent particle counts during and after flushing by 30-50%. Lid usage significantly increased (P<0.001) particle diameter from 1.5 mm to 2.1 mm and increased particle fluorescence intensity (P<0.001) during flushing and after flushing, intensity remaining above background for 16 minutes. This suggests standard lid usage reduces but does not eliminate flush-related bioaerosols. Lid-use changes their characteristics and apparently prolongs their residence time in room air. The aerosol change could represent particle agglomeration by a pressure-related Kelvin effect or particle re-aerosolisation from different surfaces in the toilet rather than exclusively originating from droplet generation. Previous studies reporting the effect of toilet lids have found that they prevent the spread of visible droplets on flushing, however the effect on smaller particles is less clear cut. * Published Online: 28/02/2020 (c) 2020 The Authors * This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. Loading Article metrics loading... /content/journal/acmi/10.1099/acmi.fis2019.po0192 2020-02-28 2023-07-28 Download as PowerPoint Loading full text... Full text loading... http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journal/acmi/10.1099/ acmi.fis2019.po0192 Loading Most read this month Article content/journal/acmi Journal 5 3 false en Loading Most cited this month Most Cited RSS feed * + Easy phylotyping of Escherichia coli via the EzClermont web app and command-line tool Nicholas R. Waters, Florence Abram, Fiona Brennan, Ashleigh Holmes and Leighton Pritchard * + Ruminococcus gnavus bacteraemia in a patient with multiple haematological malignancies Caroline Gren, Malene Roed Spiegelhauer, Emelie Curovic Rotbain, Boje Kvorning Ehmsen, Peter Kampmann and Leif Percival Andersen * + Detection of different enteric viruses in children with diarrheal disease: evidence of the high frequency of mixed infections Vaishali S. 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