Holy water fonts are reservoirs of pathogenic bacteria

Abstract

The holy water fonts from the churches of Seville, Spain have a strong bacterial contamination. Coliforms, Enterobacteriaceae and other pathogenic bacteria are widely represented in the fonts investigated. Thirty out of the 37 different species isolated from holy waters are known human pathogens. The high bacterial contamination is related to human skin transmission and, probably, to misuse of the water.