You’ve probably posed yourself or a friend up against a statue somewhere on your trips, or rubbed the already shiny ‘lucky spot’ on a bronze image—but you probably never stopped to think how clean or dirty it might be.
But somebody was, and that somebody works for Atlas Biomed, a UK company that specializes in DNA and gut microbiome analysis. And the company recently sent a team of experts on a no-doubt-enjoyable tour of Europe to collect samples in the streets for analysis. They swabbed 24 famous statues in 13 cities, including Juliet in Verona, the Lions in Trafalgar Square and a statue of Oscar Wilde near Charing Cross Station in London.
Among their findings:
- A total of 29 different bacterial genera were found across all samples, including some with surprising origins. Several bacteria usually associated with plant disease were detected, as well as two genera that can be found in the human gut. It’s likely these bacteria hitched a ride through the air or possibly on someone’s hands.
- Strikingly, several monuments from different countries shared similar microbial signatures. One similarity stood out in particular: London’s Trafalgar Square Lions shared the most in common with Amsterdam’s Bronze Breastplate, which is embedded into a cobbled street in the red-light district. Why? Atlas Biomed experts surmise that it’s due to people’s feet touching these icons, rather than their hands.
- Some of the bacteria detected, such as Staphylococcus, can be potentially dangerous and can lead to infections including sepsis, conjunctivitis, cystitis as well as endocarditis. For those with weaker immune systems, hand-washing soon after contact with a monument is advisable.
- Another potentially life-threatening bacteria lurking on the monuments is Pseudomonas, which may cause folliculitis and ear canal infections.
- Other insights showed that London’s Oscar Wilde statue has the highest bacterial diversity in Europe. Conversely, Bender’s Book from Saint-Petersburg was the least diverse.
Above: Atlas Biomed’s map of bacterial distribution across Europe
