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Have you had your water tested?
There has been some recent discussion about having home water supply tested for MAC/NTM. People seem to be having difficulty finding a resource to have this done. If anyone has had their home tested, could you please let us know a few details? Here are some of the questions, but you don't have to answer all of them - any info you can provide will be helpful:
Which lab(s) did you use?
What was the approximate cost?
What was the sampling process?
What was the turnaround time?
What did you learn, how detailed was the report, and was it understandable to a layman who is not a microbiologist?
Did the lab have someone you could contact directly with questions, either by phone or email?
Overall, how satisfied were you with the test?
Thank you for any help you can give!
Sue
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I had never heard of pink slime before following this forum. I seldom use my basement bathroom but thought it was time for a good cleaning. Sure enough, the toilet had pink slime. I would have freaked out if it wasn't for this forum!
@sueinmn Hi Sue, could you provide a reference on Methylobacter being the organism that causes the "pink slime", please?
I searched about "pink slime" online and could find references linking it to a bacterium known as Serratia marcescens (https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/news/newsreleases/2010/aug-9-2010/red-substance-in-tub-toilet-is-bacteria/), which seems to be pathogenic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serratia_marcescens).
Thank you,
Armando
Hi Sue,
This is off topic, but recently you said you had a nebulizer that you really like. I was using InnoSpire Go which I really liked, but the first one they replaced when it stopped working, and now the 2nd one has stopped working but is out of warranty. The one you use sounded like a good alternative. I would like to order it but not sure which pari that it is. I already have the trek but I don't think that was it. Thanks . Babette
Sorry - I trusted memory over written materials. S. Marascens is in the Enterobacter family. And yes, it is pathogenic, but does not aerosolize like mycobacteria do. If you have more info on the frequency of M Sarascens infection in people, can you share it please?
Sue
I use the old-fashioned Pari Vios, that I call the mean green machine. My current one came from Walgreens because at the time I needed to replace my 20-yo one, it was in stock there.
I also have a smaller AC/battery one but it is slower, so it lives at my daughter's, where they only need it occasionally. I think that is a DeVilbiss Traveler.
Sue
Thank you. Perhaps someone else was talking about one ; Pari Pro Neb Max, There are two models and I wanted to make sure it was the right one. Have a good day, and I hope that you are feeling better. Babette
@sueinmn Hi Sue, Serratia marcescens does aerosolize. In fact, back in the 1950s the US Military tested it as a bioweapon by spraying it on San Francisco (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1950-us-released-bioweapon-san-francisco-180955819/)!!!!
I don't have information on the frequency of Serratia marcescens infection in people, sorry.
Armando
I had my water tested last year by the Special Pathogens Lab in Pittsburg. It cost $200 and they were incredibly helpful via phone and email. At that time my well water came back as clean. It took 6-8 weeks for results. This year when I had it tested it came back with chimaera/intracellulare which I do not have. When we called the lab to ask questions they were wonderful. They also told us that mycobacterium chimaera is much like avium and we could have our water tested every two weeks and get different results. They did provide a detailed report I shared with the infectious disease Dr. We also have methylbacter if the pink slime we get is an indicator. Last year I posted a document called Reducing Exposure to Nontuberculous Mycobateria in which Dr. Falkinham addresses many of these issues but I’m not sure how to search our site. Bottom line I think Sue’s advice is great-mycobacteria are everywhere and we have to take sensible precautions without letting it rule our lives. Nancy
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1 ReactionOh, Armando, you knew I wouldn't be able to resist. I went looking, and you are right, it does aerosolize. However, the incidence of community-acquired S. marascens is very low. It primarily occurs in hospitals, in people who have an invasive procedure, such as intubation, catherization, etc. Once an outbreak is identified, it is usually traced to a source, such as in the case of a contaminated soap dispenser, coupled with inadequate handwashing by staff.
My daughter, formerly an pediatric OR/ER nurse, said it was a big problem in their population of young people with multiple disabilities, and the primary reason their peds hospital used all disposable supplies, and required extra precautions when intubating or catherizing.
I can find a few references to bronchiectasis and S. marascens including:
https://www.proquest.com/openview/cf74b71df161e9f2d9c193527ad80515/ and https://www.ajol.info/index.php/pamj/article/view/142552
My takeaway is that it is not something we need to be too concerned about.
Sue
@sueinmn
Sue,
What I'm interested in is to find scientific evidence for the claim someone made two or three days ago that one cannot expect MAC in the house water if it has pink slime. Can you point me to some, please?
Thank you,
Armando