Toy rubber ducks may be haven for disease-causing bacteria

Parents, take note! The cute rubber ducks and other popular bath toys that your kids play with may be host a range of potentially pathogenic bacteria that cause eye, ear and stomach infections.

Researchers from the University of Illinois in the US, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology and ETH Zurich found that toy ducks are a breeding ground for microbes.

Water released from four out of every five ducks tested in the study included Legionella and Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria, often associated with infections acquired in hospitals, researchers said.

The study, published in the journal N P J Biofilms and Microbiomes, tested a range of 19 different bath toys.

Researchers found 75 million cells of bacteria per square centimetre in the ducks - a strikingly high level, 'The New York Times' reported.

This was caused by the polymer material releasing carbon, which acts as a nutrient for bacteria, they said.

"In addition to the nutrient supply, dirty bath water also serves as a further source of microbial seeding for the bath toys," researchers said.

They suggest using higher-quality polymer to make the rubber ducks might prevent bacterial and fungal growth.