Closing the toilet lid is highly recommended amid the coronavirus outbreak, according to a report, as a group of researchers has found that the bug can spread through fecal matter that escapes from the bowl during a flush.
The disease caused by the coronavirus, which scientists had already warned can be spread from fecal-oral transmission, can also be transmitted via “aerosolized feces,” according to Forbes, citing a study published by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.
Aerosolized feces can be propelled into the air through what’s called a toilet plume — the spread of aerosols, sometimes containing infectious fecal matter, caused by a flush.
“Close the lid and then flush,” a mechanical engineering professor from Purdue University, Dr. Qingyan Chen, told Forbes. He said it was a simple solution to help control the spread of the disease through toilet plumes.
Chen told the outlet that closing the lid can prevent 80 percent of the fecal particles from escaping into the air.
Sources:
New York Post: Scientists say coronavirus can spread through ‘aerosolized feces’
Featured and Top Image Courtesy Of dirtyboxface’s Flickr – Creative Commons License
