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- New research shows: Urine is not sterile, not even in the bladder
New research shows: Urine is not sterile, not even in the bladder
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- joeturner
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Re: New research shows: Urine is not sterile, not even in the bladder
I am quite willing to believe that it is relatively sterile and can be relatively easily steralised.
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Re: New research shows: Urine is not sterile, not even in the bladder
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You need to login to reply- Elisabeth
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New research shows: Urine is not sterile, not even in the bladder
This is the new wording in Wikipedia, backed up by two sources (I am sure more sources could be found by hunting around a bit):
Urine is not sterile, not even in the bladder.[13][14] Earlier studies with less sophisticated analytical techniques had found that urine is sterile until it reaches the urethra. In the urethra epithelial cells lining the urethra are colonized by facultatively anaerobic Gram negative rods and cocci.[15]
The mentioned sources are these:
13: Hilt, Evann E.; Kathleen McKinley; Meghan M. Pearce; Amy B. Rosenfeld; Michael J. Zilliox; Elizabeth R. Mueller; Linda Brubaker; Xiaowu Gai; Alan J. Wolfe; Paul C. Schreckenberger (26 December 2013). "Urine Is Not Sterile: Use of Enhanced Urine Culture Techniques To Detect Resident Bacterial Flora in the Adult Female Bladder". Journal of Clinical Microbiology. 52 (3): 871–876. doi:10.1128/JCM.02876-13. PMC 3957746 Freely accessible jcm.asm.org/content/52/3/871.abstract?si...37-b3fe-101887fe5811
14: Engelhaupt, Erika (22 May 2014). "Urine is not sterile, and neither is the rest of you". Science News. www.sciencenews.org/blog/gory-details/ur...and-neither-rest-you
This doesn't change anything for people working in sanitation with urine reuse projects. We always knew that urine can pick up pathogens anyhow during the collection process and cross-contamination from faeces. Nevertheless it is an interesting fact.
To my colleagues at GIZ: when you bring out an update to this publication which I co-authored, please correct it (or already correct it in the online version please):
www.susana.org/en/knowledge-hub/resource.../library/details/875
von Münch, E., Winker, M. (2011). Technology review of urine diversion components - Overview on urine diversion components such as waterless urinals, urine diversion toilets, urine storage and reuse systems. Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
There it says on Page 11 wrongly:
It is important to know that urine in the bladder of a healthy
person is sterile (meaning it contains no pathogens). Only
very few diseases are transmitted via pathogens in urine. The
only disease which needs to be considered from a risk perspective
when urine is reused in agriculture is Schistosoma haematobium
– and only in areas where this disease is endemic
(WHO, 2006, Volume 4).
Regards,
Elisabeth
Freelance consultant on environmental and climate projects
Located in Ulm, Germany
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
My Wikipedia user profile: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:EMsmile
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/elisabethvonmuench/
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- New research shows: Urine is not sterile, not even in the bladder