Heavily contaminated with bacteria and germs
Ball pools are fun. However, the colorful balls are sometimes contaminated with dangerous pathogens, as a recent study has shown.
Ball pools are often the biggest thing for children. The pits filled with countless colorful balls are not only found in indoor playgrounds, they are also used in physiotherapy. Ball pools are used there, among other things, as therapy for children with sensory or motor impairments. As a research team from the «University of North Georgia» found out in a new study, romping between the colorful balls can also make you sick. In an examination of six therapeutic ball pools in different clinic facilities, the scientists found out that, in principle, each individual ball represents a slingshot.
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Each bullet contaminated with thousands of bacteria
The researchers examined nine to fifteen balls from different depths in each pool. The result: 31 different types of bacteria and one yeast species. Among them they also found the pathogen Enterococcus faecalis, which can cause urinary tract infections and meningitis. «Bacterial colonization was thousands of cells per bead, presenting an increased potential for transmission of these organisms and therefore an increased risk of infection,» the report published in the American Journal of Infection Control states.
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Ball pools are cleaned only insufficiently
It was also found that some of the physiotherapy clinics studied allowed weeks to elapse between cleanings – just the right amount of time for disease-causing microorganisms to reach levels that can make children ill. However, the number of pathogens on the individual samples was quite different, which can be attributed to the widely differing protocols for cleaning and maintenance. Researchers concluded that there is a greater need to clarify and establish ball pit cleaning standards to reduce the risk of infection.