Figure 3
From: Bacterial and fungal isolation from face masks under the COVID-19 pandemic
Lifestyles and microbial colonies: transportation, gargling, and natto consumption. (a) We categorized three transportation systems to commute: (1) public transportation: trains and/or buses; (2) private vehicles: cars and trucks; and (3) walk/bike: walking, bicycles, and motorbikes. We found no differences in the bacterial and fungal colony counts among the three transportation categories on the face-side or outer-side of masks. (b) Microbial colony counts and the gargling habit. The pie chart showed the percentage of participants' gargling frequency; 67% of the participants gargled at least once a day. We found no differences in the bacterial or fungal colony counts among the participants regardless of the gargling frequency. (c) Natto consumption and Bacillus subtilis colonies. Natto is a traditional Japanese food made from soybeans fermented with B. subtilis that forms large white colonies on agar plates. According to the survey, 9% and 27% of the participants have eaten natto daily and weekly, respectively; 19% (21 of 109) of the participants ate natto during the experimental period. The participants who ate natto had a significantly higher percentage of B. subtilis colonies than those who did not eat natto.
