WebMD Study Shows Musical Instruments Used in School Bands May Harbor Illness-Ca

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School Band Instruments Are Bacterial Hot Spots

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Study Shows Musical Instruments Used in School Bands May Harbor Illness-Causing

Microbes

By Matt McMillen

WebMD Health NewsReviewed by J. , MD March 16, 2011 -- Your child's

band instrument may be a breeding ground for harmful bacteria, according to a

new study.

The study is published in the journal General Dentistry.

While both the internal and external components of brass and woodwind

instruments -- which are often shared among students without sanitizing -- were

found to be contaminated, the mouthpiece harbored the heaviest concentrations of

illness-causing microorganisms.

" Most of these instruments have been played by other students, and without the

proper sanitation, bacteria and fungi can thrive for weeks and even months after

the last use, " study researcher R. Glass, DDS, PhD, says in a news

release.

Many of the microbes that the researchers identified are associated with minor

to serious infectious or allergic diseases.

" The results of this study found that wind instruments could act as reservoirs

of such diseases, " the researchers write. " Many of these microbes are highly

resistant to some or most of the antibiotics normally used in general practice,

including methicillin. "

Sterilize Band Instruments

The researchers tested 13 instruments of a small-town high school band. The

instruments included saxophones, clarinets, oboes, and others commonly played by

school bands. Seven of them were brass instruments; the other six were

woodwinds. Half of them had been played within a week of testing, while the

others had not been used for at least a month.

Researchers found 295 different types of bacteria in the 117 spots that were

tested, which included the mouthpieces, internal chambers, and instrument cases.

Several different types of infection-causing staphylococcus bacteria were

identified in many of the instruments. Other bacteria -- including those

associated with diarrhea, food poisoning, osteomyelitis, or bone infection, and

other conditions -- were also discovered.

Many allergy-inducing yeasts and molds were also found. Several of those molds,

the researchers write, are known to produce mycotoxins, which can be toxic to

humans, animals, and plants.

These findings might sound alarming, but the researchers are not advising

parents to withdraw their children from band. Instead, they recommend that

instruments be routinely sterilized with solutions made specifically for that

purpose.

" Instruments should be cleaned after each use to reduce the number of

organisms, " Academy of General Dentistry spokeswoman Sherwood, DDS,

FAGD, says in a news release. " And cleaning should not be confined to the

mouthpiece, since the bacteria invade the entire instrument. "