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A Study of the Bacterial Flora in Selected Student Brass Musical Instruments

 
 

Copyright 2024, Mark Alan Wade

Primary Author: Bridges, C.
Journal Title: PhD Dissertation, University of Hawaii
Date Published: 2005
Language: English
Category: Anatomical, Physiological & Historical Research
Key Words: bacteria flora student brass dissertation University of Hawaii
Full Citation: Bridges, Cynthia L.. A Study of the Bacterial Flora in Selected Student Brass Musical Instruments. PhD diss., University of Hawaii, 2005.
Full Abstract: This study was undertaken to discover the identity of bacteria that exist in brass wind instruments. The study sample, (N = 25), was a stratified, random quota sample consisting of five trumpets, five horns, five trombones, five euphoniums, and five tubas from a university band program. Of these twenty-five instruments, nine were used in the concert band and sixteen were used in the marching band. From these instruments, the twenty-five from the main study and one from the pilot study, 431 bacterial isolates were extracted. Of these 431 bacterial isolates thirty-seven were chosen for study through biochemical procedures and 16s PCR. PCR was performed, the DNA for each organism was sequenced, the DNA sequences were submitted to an internet search engine and the organisms were identified. The organisms identified through these procedures included: (a)  Bacillus anthracis ; (b)  Bacillus cereus ; (c)  Flavobacterium mizutaii ; (d)  Mebsiella pneumoniae/oxytoca ; (e)  Microbacterium arborescens ; (f)  Micrococcus luteus ; (g)  Pseudomonas aeruginosa ; (h)  Pseudomonas beteli ; (i)  Pseudomonas stutzeri ; (j)  Sphingobacterium spiritivorum ; (k)  Staphylococcus aureus ; (l)  Staphylococcus epidermidis ; (m)  Staphylococcus haemolyticus ; (n)  Staphylococcus hominis (o)  Stenotrophomonas maltophilia ; (p)  Streptococcus parasanguinis ; (q)  Streptococcus pyogenes ; (r)  Streptococcus saliuarlus. Brass instruments contain bacteria. Some of the bacteria found in these instruments are pathogenic and can cause serious disease should the immune system of the player be compromised. Further research is needed to identify the complete bacterial flora of instruments, to identify possible viral and fungal flora that exist in brass instruments and to develop procedures and materials to quickly disinfect instruments.