Microbiologists have found that 27% of home plumbing fixtures and 15% of hospital fixtures contain culturable pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus, of which half are resistant to key antibiotics.

The first study of Australian showers, taps, drains and baths used 166 water samples and showed that 56% were PCR-positive for S. aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Acinetobacter baumannii.

Eleven samples were culture positive for S. aureus, 17 for P. aeruginosa and 14 for A. baumannii.

“The discrepancy between quantitative PCR and culture-based detection suggests that some bacterial DNA detected in these samples may originate from non-viable cells or exist as extracellular DNA (eDNA) within biofilms,” the Flinders University-led team wrote in the Journal of Hospital Infection.