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Reducing Exposure to Nontuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM)

MAC & Bronchiectasis | Last Active: Aug 31 11:16am | Replies (157)
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@bolso1

Sue,
About the "time" issue when boiling water:

In Table 7.8 (attached) of the WHO's "Guidelines for drinking-water quality - 4 ed.", (https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241548151), it is indicated that "spores are more resistant to thermal inactivation than are vegetative cells; treatment to reduce spores by boiling must ensure sufficient temperature and time."
Do NTM have spores? Yes according to the attached reference.
So, the 10-min recommendation might aim to provide a general "rule of thumb" safety margin.

Also, there is research that shows that Mycobacterium sensitivity to heat varies with the phase of growth: when in a phase that can lead to fast growth, Mycobacterium is more sensitive than when in a phase close to a stationary state (slow growth rate) (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2705590/pdf/zpq10781.pdf).

Armando

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Replies to "Sue, About the "time" issue when boiling water: In Table 7.8 (attached) of the WHO's "Guidelines..."
Sue, Volunteer Mentor | @sueinmn | Oct 7, 2021

Thank you. This is exactly the kind of info I was looking for. So, how does this square with using an electric kettle, where none I have seen can be set to keep boiling for 10 minutes?
Sue

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rits | @rits | Oct 8, 2021

I am confused with respect to why the source of the heat to boil the water matters. An electric kettle kills more pathogens than a kettle on a gas stove? Why? And what about an electric stove or a hot plate? I thought it was the boiling that killed the pathogens so why does it matter what type of heat brings it to a boil? Hopefully Dr Fallingham will answer this on the webinaire.

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