Children’s ball pits contaminated with 'bacteria linked to sepsis, meningitis and pneumonia'

29 April 2019, 11:50

Some ball pits are crawling with bacteria
Some ball pits are crawling with bacteria. Picture: Getty
Alice Dear

By Alice Dear

A new study has found just how dangerous children’s ball pits can be.

A new study by American bods from the University of Georgia have found some shocking results from children’s ball pits.

Of the study, which was published in the American Journal of Infection Control, the filthiest ball pit of all had around 170,818 bacteria per ball.

Another ball pit tested was crawling with 712,000 microorganism cells.

The study tested six children’s ball pits in total, with the results finding 30 different kinds of bacteria hiding in the play pit.

One of the ball pits tested was crawling with 712,000 microorganism cells
One of the ball pits tested was crawling with 712,000 microorganism cells. Picture: Getty

The study claims that some of the ball pits had not been cleaned in weeks.

The bugs found in the ball pits have been linked with sepsis, meningitis, skin infections and pneumonia.

The Sun also reported that a yeast which causes fungal infections was found.

This fungal infection is said to target people with weak immune systems.

In the study, the American bods tested ball pits from physical therapy centres in the United States.

The study found: “considerable microbial colonization in ball pits that were tested, including eight bacteria and one yeast that could cause disease.”