Germs on the Playground

Should Parents Be Concerned When Little Ones Swing and Slide?

By Teri Brown

A recent segment on a morning news show concerning germs on playground equipment got the attention of parents all across the county. The program tested 60 samples taken from playground equipment from 12 different cities. Of those 60 samples, tests showed that 59 came back positive for some kind of germ that could make children sick. These germs included evidence of Salmonella, shigella, hepatitis A and E. coli.

It's enough to make a parent rethink the swing set and jungle gym.

"I do worry about germs at the playground," says Andrea McMann, mother of two from Norfolk, Neb. "For one thing, almost every time my children and I go to the park, someone will end up sick a few days later. In a place like that, where the equipment has passed through the hands of so many kids, there's a huge risk of exposure to germs. As a result, we don't go to the park too often. Still, there are times when a kid just needs to go to the park."

Dr. Chris Nelson, chief of the division of Pediatric Infectious Disease at the Department of Pediatrics for the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, believes that while studies are limited, common sense would indicate that there could be a risk.

"I am not sure how well common skin organisms would survive in an outdoor setting, but common sense would dictate that skin organisms like Staphylococcus aureus might be able to be found if playground equipment was cultured," Dr. Nelson says. "I think it is prudent to expect that many common skin organisms may exist and persist on a wide variety of environmental surfaces outside the home, and to take precautions to prevent acquisition and spread of these germs."

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