McGill requests 'police assistance' over pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University says it has 'requested police assistance' about the pro-Palestinian encampment on its lower field.
When it comes to ensuring the toilet doesn’t leave tiny particles of fecal matter all over your bathroom every time you go number two, one piece of advice has held strong: just make sure you put down the toilet lid before you flush.
However, a new study suggests closing the toilet seat may not have as big of an impact as we thought in cutting down the risk of pathogens getting on our bathroom surfaces.
The study, published last week in the peer-reviewed American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC), found that the amount of viral contamination of bathroom surfaces did not change whether the toilet seat was up or down during flushing.
“With results showing that closing toilet lids has no meaningful impact on preventing the spread of viral particles, our study highlights the importance of regular disinfection of toilets to reduce contamination and prevent the spread of viruses,” Charles P. Gerba, professor of virology at the University of Arizona and senior author of this study, said in a press release.
He added that the findings are most concerning for health-care settings, where potential pathogens pose a higher risk to immunocompromised patients who might be immunocompromised. It's important to note that this study did not look at airborne particles, only those that settle on surfaces.
In order to measure the toilet lid’s effect, researchers took a surrogate for the kind of gastrointestinal bacteria that might end up in a toilet during the average visit and added that to the toilet water. Then, they tested how far it could spread when the toilet was flushed with the lid up or down.
Two different types of toilet sold in the U.S. were used, including a public toilet located in the public restroom of an office building and a toilet in a residential home. The surrogate was not a human or animal pathogen, so no protective clothing was required, the study says.
Researchers recorded the amount of bacteria that settled on surfaces in the bathroom around one minute after each test flush.
Whether the toilet was flushed with the lid up or down, there was no statistical difference between the amount of viral material found on the floor or toilet seat, researchers found.
There was minimal contamination of the walls in all scenarios.
However, a second analysis, in which researchers looked at how effective it was to clean the toilet with or without disinfectant, showed that cleaning the toilet bowl with disinfectant and a toilet brush significantly reduced the amount of virus present in the toilet.
“(This study) underscores the importance of regular disinfection of surfaces in healthcare settings for reducing the spread of viral infections,” Tania Bubb, 2024 president of AJIC, said in the press release.
So should we completely forego putting the toilet seat down to flush? Probably not, according to existing research.
This study only looked at surfaces, but a 2022 study, for instance, found that flushing the toilet with the seat open created a huge amount of airborne particles that could linger in the air for minutes—which is definitely not something anyone would want to inhale.
McGill University says it has 'requested police assistance' about the pro-Palestinian encampment on its lower field.
Donald Trump was held in contempt of court Tuesday and fined US$9,000 for repeatedly violating a gag order that barred him from making public statements about witnesses, jurors and some others connected to his New York hush money case.
A wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby, Ont. last night has left four people dead, including an infant, Ontario’s police watchdog says.
A new cancer treatment recently approved in Canada promises to cut treatment time down to just minutes, but experts have differing opinions on whether it's what's best for patients.
Air Canada has paused a new seat selection fee for travellers booked on the lowest fares just days after implementing it.
Canada's GDP rose 0.2 per cent in February, driven by a rebound in transportation and warehousing, which saw the largest recorded month-to-month rise in over a year at 1.4 per cent.
A new Canadian dental care program is offering the hope of free care to millions, but while 1.7 million people have signed up for the plan, only about 5,000 dentists have done the same.
Residents in the area of Gaston Road in Dartmouth, N.S., are being asked to shelter in place as police search for an armed suspect.
An ongoing municipal strike, court battles and revolt by half of council has prompted the province to oust the mayor and council in Black River-Matheson.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.