Beware of whirlpool baths

I wrote about the dangers of pedicure in January and advised people to becareful of whirlpool footbaths used by salons because they may be contaminated by a bacteria called Mycobacterium fortuitum. Recently, a Reuters news report says that bathing in a public or private whirlpool bath or hot tub may be dangerous too. From Reuters:

In 95 percent of the tubs, bacteria derived from feces were present, while 81 percent had fungi and 34 percent contained potentially deadly staphylococcus bacteria.

Moyes explained that a teaspoon of normal tap water contains about 138 bacteria and many samples are bacteria-free. A teaspoon of whirlpool tub water, on the other hand, contains an average of more than 2 million bacteria...

The bacteria found in whirlpool baths can lead to a number of diseases, including urinary tract infections, skin infections, and pneumonia.

Previously: Beware of the pedicure