Gram-negative rods are potentially the most dangerous to humans.<\/p>\n
However, the research I’m referring to today was most concerned with the survival rate of gram-positive cocci.<\/p>\n
Specifically, the researchers were most concerned about the survival rate of staphylococci and enterococci.<\/p>\n
Both of these are a genus, or family, of bacteria.<\/p>\n
Staphylococci are usually associated with staph infections. And enterococci can be associated with some infections such as meningitis, urinary tract infection or diverticulitis.<\/p>\n
The reason these bacteria are so concerning is because they have been shown to become increasingly resistant to antibiotics.<\/p>\n
And this is why it’s so important to understand how they behave in a hospital setting because hospital-acquired infections are one of the leading causes of death, especially in post-surgical patients.<\/p>\n
So those are the bacteria that survive the longest on fabrics, but just how long do they actually survive?<\/p>\n
One study tested how long bacteria survived on different fabrics over a period of three months.<\/p>\n
And the fabrics they tested were cotton, a 60\/40 cotton-polyester blend, wool, and silk.<\/p>\n
Results found that the median survival rate of bacteria was:<\/p>\n
- \n
- 26 days on cotton<\/li>\n
- 26.5 days on cotton-polyester<\/li>\n
- 28 days on silk<\/li>\n
- 30 days on wool<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
But now I want to address some of the longest surviving, specific bacteria strains found on these fabrics.<\/p>\n
First, E. faecium is a member of the enterococci family and had the longest survival rate of any bacteria on any fabric.<\/p>\n
It survived 49 days on cotton, wool, and silk, and survived 51 days on cotton-polyester.<\/p>\n
E. faecium can be responsible for illness such as endocarditis.<\/p>\n
Second, S. aureus is a member of the staphylococci family and had one of the longest survival rates.<\/p>\n
It survived 37 days on cotton, cotton-polyester, and silk, and survived 41 days on wool.<\/p>\n
S. aureus can be responsible for a whole host of infections ranging from minor skin infections, all the way up to something life-threatening such as pneumonia.<\/p>\n
It’s also worth mentioning that E. coli was found to have a long survival rate.<\/p>\n
It survived 37 days on cotton-polyester, and 45 days on cotton, silk, and wool.<\/p>\n
A different study found very similar results.<\/p>\n
This other study found that enterococci tends to survive longer on fabric than any other surface, and also mentioned that it tends to survive the longest on polyester.<\/p>\n
This somewhat agrees with the first study. However it’s important to know there is a difference between polyester and a cotton-polyester blend.<\/p>\n
With all this talk about bacteria in your bed, you might be wondering if in addition to washing your sheets you should use antimicrobial bedding.<\/p>\n
Does antimicrobial bedding actually reduce the bacteria in your bed?<\/p>\n
Well this is a really huge topic that we can discuss another day, but in short: yes.<\/p>\n
Antimicrobial fabrics could reduce the amount of bacteria.<\/p>\n
These fabrics will help reduce the growth of bacteria, specifically odor-causing bacteria.<\/p>\n
So if you do sleep in bedding that is out of an antimicrobial fabric, it could be healthier for you.<\/p>\n
Read about the best antibacterial bed sheets<\/a> that are infused with bacteria-killing silver.<\/p>\n
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