Frequently Asked Questions - Instrument Sterilization
Dr. James L. Greenwald, associate professor of family medicine at SUNY Upstate Medical University and an active amateur trombonist, was recently quoted on this issue. ("Germs Live on Musical Instruments and Everywhere." Syracuse Post-Standard, Sept. 19, 2006.) When asked whether sterilizing an instrument would get rid of germs, he replied, "It would kill all the germs, but so what? They would come back as soon as you brought the instrument back into the world." Download the article (PDF).
In our experience and to the best of our knowledge, wind musical instruments are sanitized with soap and water or alcohol before they are rented. All reputable instrument dealers should do the same. In addition, many music educators instruct their band students to re-wash the wind instruments themselves before playing them.
The world is filled with germs, and it's possible these germs can be spread any number of ways, such as through school books, sporting equipment, eating utensils and drinking fountains, etc. However, NAMM believes the many benefits of band students playing musical instruments, including improved academic performance and self-esteem, far supercede the possibility of contracting a disease in this manner. The traditional practice of cleaning the mouthpiece with soap and water and/or alcohol has been deemed sufficient for years, just as eating utensils are cleaned with soap and water in the cafeteria. We have, and continue to, recommend that musical instruments be sanitized with soap and water and/or alcohol on a regular basis or between users.
Dr. Michael Wessels, the head of infection control at Boston Children's Hospital, says, "Just swabbing the instrument's mouthpiece with alcohol should kill most of the germs." TheBostonChannel.com, Sept. 14, 2006
As to whether unsterilized rental musical instruments pose a public health risk, The Washington Post reports, "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention knows of no disease outbreak tied to wind instruments."
John Bradley, a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases, says that "Even if disease-causing bacteria could survive the usual summer gap between student rentals (which he considers unlikely), the pathogens associated with such illnesses as staph and strep infections, meningitis and tuberculosis aren't likely to do harm if encountered through a wind instrument.” The Washington Post, Sept. 5, 2006 "Tune Into a New Worry"
Throughout NAMM's 105-year-history, we are not aware that there has been any significant outbreak of disease from playing musical instruments.
Finally, Brian Majeski, editor of The Music Trades magazine, the industry's oldest trade publication, says, "We have covered the school band and orchestra market for more than 60 years without a printed mention of a single instance of disease spread through rental instruments."