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Verificação de contaminantes de natureza fecal na superfície de torneiras de banheiros públicos

2012; UNIVERSIDADE VALE DO RIO VERDE; Volume: 10; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.5892/ruvrv.2012.101.297303

2236-5362

Márcio Dênis Medeiros,

Food Safety and Hygiene

A study was carried out to evaluate the presence of thermotolerant coliforms in sinks of public restrooms. Eleven restrooms located in the city of Tres Coracoes - MG were analyzed. These bacteria are indicators of contamination by organic matter of intestinal origin. The individuals transmit the contaminants that might be in their hands when touching the sink taps. Right after washing their hands, they recontaminate the hands by touching again the sink tap, establishing the infectious cycle. As for the results, 24% of the sink taps and 73% of the restrooms showed positive results concerning the presence of thermotolerant coliforms, indicating that the act of washing hands is not effective and that it might affect the health of individuals. A health program which makes the population aware of how important the hand washing process is recommended.