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Wednesday, May 31, 2023 | 
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Coronavirus could spread in the spray from a toilet, new study says

A new study suggests flushing your toilet might lead to coronavirus infection

By Herb Scribner Herb Scribnerhscribner@deseretnews.com
SHARE Coronavirus could spread in the spray from a toilet, new study says
A public toilet remains closed along Portobello Road in London, Monday, June 1, 2020. Most public toilets remain closed, as the British government has lifted some lockdown restrictions to restart social life and activate the economy while still endeavouring to limit the spread of the highly contagious COVID-19 coronavirus.

A public toilet remains closed along Portobello Road in London, on Monday, June 1, 2020.

Kirsty Wigglesworth, Associated Press

A new study from Yangzhou University in China has found that coronavirus could spread from the spray of your toilet.

What’s happened:

  • Researchers used computer modeling software to show how water in a flushed toilet sprays into the air, reaching as high as 3 feet.
  • This action could lead to “a cloud of little particles containing fecal matter into the air — fecal matter that could carry coronavirus,” according to CNN.
  • Researcher Ji-Xiang Wang, of Yangzhou University, said in a statement: “One can foresee that the velocity will be even higher when a toilet is used frequently, such as in the case of a family toilet during a busy time or a public toilet serving a densely populated area.”
  • Experts suggested coronavirus can live in the digestive system. Evidence in COVID-19 has been found in human waste, too.

Human waste in Utah

  • A sewage study in Utah found that there were high concentrations of novel coronavirus in large cities and areas with COVID-19 outbreak, according to Ashley Imlay of the Deseret News.
  • Researchers looked to find out whether waste that gets flushed down the toilet could offer Utah a chance to understand infection rates.
  • Erica Gaddis, director of the Utah Division of Water Quality, said in a statement: “The initial results show that we can not only detect the virus in sewage, but we can see trends that are broadly consistent with known infection rates in Utah’s communities.”