Bottled water specs

[Guest guest]

" High Levels " of Bacteria Found in Bottled Mineral Water: Study

By Rauscher

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Nov 01 - Bottled mineral water, generally

considered more pure than tap water, is often contaminated with

bacteria and fungi, a researcher warned today in a report to the 44th

Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy

(ICAAC), a meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.

" Hospital water is increasingly accepted as a source for pathogens, "

Dr. Rocus R. Klont from University Medical Center Nijmegen, the

Netherlands, told Reuters Health. " Immunocompromised patients often

receive bottled mineral water under the assumption that it is safer

than tap water. "

To determine the risk of infection from bottled water, Dr. Klont and

colleagues look for bacterial and fungal contamination in 68

commercial mineral waters, one tap water, and one water sample from a

natural well from nine European and seven non-European countries.

" We found high levels of bacterial contamination in commercially

bottled mineral water, " Dr. Klont told Reuters Health.

Overall 40% of all samples showed evidence of contamination with

either bacteria (37%) or fungi (4%). Bacteria grew from 21 samples,

including cultures of 8 coagulase-negative staphylococci, 10 gram-

negative nonfermenters and 9 gram-positive rods.

Legionella DNA was detected in six samples and Legionella antigen in

six others. Molds were detected in three samples.

" These findings indicate that the general perception that bottled

water is safe and clean is not true, " Dr. Klont noted in comments to

Reuters Health.

" The risk of disease to healthy individuals may be limited, but

immunocompromised patients are generally more susceptible to infection

and therefore might be at higher risk of becoming infected, " he added.