Scientists have released a study revealing bath toys that squirt water could be harbouring bugs that can cause eye, ear and stomach infections – including Legionella and drug-resistant superbugs that can cause death.
The researchers found between 5 million and 75 million cells per square centimetre inside the toys, with potentially pathogenic bacteria identified in 80% of all the toys studied, including Legionella and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacterium often implicated in hospital-acquired infections.