The Silent Role of Biofilms in Chronic Disease

Why Am I Still Sick? The Silent Role of Biofilms in Chronic Disease

Everyone, please filter your water. What you don't know can definitely harm you. I recommend multiple filtration systems. I use an under-sink, 2 cartridge system that removes biological impurities and a second stage which removes fluoride and other nasties. I also use a counter-top system which electrolyzes and filters the water; it's great for cleaning produce.

An obvious reminder: chlorine may be good for killing bugs, but it's not good for you (thyroid, endocrine system). Supplement with iodine and (safe) seaweed products.
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Biofouling. 2013 Jul 24
Multi-species biofilms defined from drinking water microorganisms provide increased protection against chlorine disinfection.
Schwering M, Song J, Louie M, Turner RJ, Ceri H.
a Department of Biological Sciences , Biofilm Research Group, University of Calgary , Calgary , Canada.

A model biofilm, formed of multiple species from environmental drinking water, including opportunistic pathogens, was created to explore the tolerance of multi-species biofilms to chlorine levels typical of water-distribution systems.

All species, when grown planktonically, were killed by concentrations of chlorine within the World Health Organization guidelines (0.2-5.0mgl-1). Higher concentrations (1.6-40-fold) of chlorine were required to eradicate biofilm populations of these strains, ∼70% of biofilms tested were not eradicated by 5.0mgl-1 chlorine.

Pathogenic bacteria within the model multi-species biofilms had an even more substantial increase in chlorine tolerance; on average ∼700-1100mgl-1 chlorine was required to eliminate pathogens from the biofilm, 50-300-fold higher than for biofilms comprising single species.

Confocal laser scanning microscopy of biofilms showed distinct 3D structures and multiple cell morphologies and arrangements. Overall, this study showed a substantial increase in the chlorine tolerance of individual species with co-colonization in a multi-species biofilm that was far beyond that expected as a result of biofilm growth on its own.