May 21st 2014: Pathogenic on children’s hands and toys during play

A new study in Mexico has examined if children’s leisure activities affect the presence of pathogens on their hands and toys. The studies revealed faecal coliforms on children’s hands and toys after playing on sidewalks and public parks. Hepatitis A and G. lamblia on children’s hands were also found. Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae were found on children’s hands at concentrations up to 2.5×104 and 1.×104 CFU hands-1, respectively. E. coli and Kl. pneumoniae were detected on toys (2.4×103 and 2.7×104 CFU toy-1 respectively). Salmonella spp, Serratia spp and G. lamblia cysts were also present on toys. The data suggests that transfer occurred from hands to toys and vice versa. The study can be found at Journal of Applied Microbiology 2014;116:1668-75.