Can bacteria be transmitted through odour?

we were watching an advert which claimed that there were more bacteria on chopping boards than toilet seats but i thought it's more to do with the type of bacteria rather than the amount. We weren't sure if any can be transmitted through the smell of something, as surely if you can smell it, a particle containing the scent has managed to reach your nostrils.

Can bacteria be transmitted through odour?
Bacteria are not transmitted through odour, but can be airborne and transmitted through tiny droplets of liquid or by attaching themselves to other matter, small enough to get airborne. At any moment in time, there are billions of bacteria surrounding you.





That said, I think today's world has gone mad with regards to hygiene. It is a known fact that the children of farmers, who play outside amongst the farm animals, and subsequent breeding bacteria, have vastly superior immune systems. And the suggestion that a synthetic smell, in all todays commercials, around the home is pleasant is ludicrous!











If we lived in a bacteria free world, we would not be able to digest our food and if we stop appreciating 'natural' smells we will lose our ability to truly appreciate our humanity...
Reply:I can't find anything on the internet that says bacteria can be transmitted through odour
Reply:I would say yes. You see people wearing those paper face masks in like China, bird flu, hospitals, illness, germs viruses. Airborn its harm would be in its scent.
Reply:Not through odour itself, but respiratory droplets. Bacterial diseases such as tuberculosis infect people via the nostrils or mouth into the lungs this way....
Reply:No, bacteria generate smell it can not be transmitted through smell.





Bacteria grow where there is energy to feed this growth. This makes a shopping board an ideal place for many different types of bacteria, however different bacteria do prefer different types of energy sources.
Reply:I hate those commercials - first off bacteria can be transmitted through scent since when you smell you're breathing in particles of the matter that is in a way slowly dissolving in the air.





The whole 'more bacteria on a chopping board than on a toilet seat' is completely true - and incredibly MISLEADING! Its a piece of disinformation touted by sellers of bleach for their own purposes.





It sounds horrific - why? Because we imagine toilet seats have lots of bacteria - truth is - they do NOT. Bacteria need damp areas to reproduce - a smooth, dry, ceramic surface could not be more unfriendly to microbial life. On the other hand a damp chopping board might have a fair few from meats and other food stuffs - however, thats more bacteria compared to the smooth ceramic surface (forget that its a toilet) which isnt saying very much at all.
Reply:Well - the Hantavirus is transmitted by inhaling an aerosol-like substance that is produced by the droppings / urine of certain rodents.





See the link below.
Reply:Odour is just molecules the same as anything else. bacteria may be bigger but they often go together - think of mould!





Neither has to be harmful, in any quantity (excepting lorry loads of course) but it only takes 1 bug to start a bug farm so the more the un-merrier.





Also seats tend to be smooth and cleaned with a disinfectant rather than pitted and scratched and just wiped clean so they will start from the blocks rather than having salmanella lurking!
Reply:From what i remember it cant the odour given off by an object is of gaseous nature and therefore does not contain bacteria. However bacteria can be air born in the air that the gas inhabits meaning it would be inhaled.
Reply:No odor from bacteria is caused by sulfuric gasses that the bacteria give off. However if the bacteria is a harmful species and is airborne yes it will make you sick but they are usually odorless.
Reply:I think you are asking if bacteria can be transmitted through, the answer is definitely yes. However, the term odour or scent refers to our perception of molecules as they act on our olfactory receptors. Bacteria themselves are not detectable; therefore, no odour.
Reply:bacteria cant travel via the atmosphere,a virus,and eg common cold can even though most is caught through touch more than anything.If bacteria can live in out atmosphere get ready for a human wipe out.......rabis + wter baware?
Reply:Odours are air borne particles. Yes Yes Yes
Reply:Our Olfactory sense organs ,situated in the roof of the nose, are mainly chemical sensors and their stimulation is carried via the olfactory nerve to the brain.





Any odours are in fact specific chemicals that have stimulated the sensors.





These chemical molecules reach our sense organs through the air. Bacteria can also be transmitted through the air and be airborne .





As one can imagine the chemical molecule will travel further than the bacteria due to their difference in masses .





So if one is near enough to the source of the odour one may then breathe in air containing both the chemicals and the odourless bacteria . While further away one can breathe the chemicals without the bacteria. This is easily verifiable.





Odours do not transmit bacteria but both may be independently and concomitantly transmitted by air (airborne).