Occurrence of Legionella in showers at recreational facilities

Critical environments, including water systems in recreational settings, represent an important source of Legionella pneumophila infection in humans. In order to assess the potential risk for legionellosis, we analyzed Legionella contamination of water distribution systems in 36 recreational facilit...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of water and health 2017-06, Vol.15 (3), p.402-409
Main Authors: De Filippis, Patrizia, Mozzetti, Cinzia, Amicosante, Massimo, D'Alò, Gian Loreto, Messina, Alessandra, Varrenti, Donatella, Giammattei, Roberto, Di Giorgio, Floriana, Corradi, Stefania, D'Auria, Alberto, Fraietta, Roberta, Gabrieli, Rosanna
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bathrooms
Contamination
Hotels
Hotels & motels
Hydraulic systems
Hygiene
Infections
Italy
Legionella
Legionella pneumophila - classification
Legionella pneumophila - immunology
Legionella pneumophila - isolation & purification
Legionnaires disease
Legionnaires' disease bacterium
Nucleotide sequence
PCR
Polymerase chain reaction
Recreation
Recreational facilities
Resorts & spas
Risk analysis
Risk assessment
Risk factors
Rome
Serotypes
Showers
Sports facilities
Swimming
Swimming Pools
Temperature
Temperature effects
Toilet Facilities
Water analysis
Water distribution
Water distribution systems
Water engineering
Water Microbiology
Water pollution
Water quality
Water sampling
Water Supply
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Critical environments, including water systems in recreational settings, represent an important source of Legionella pneumophila infection in humans. In order to assess the potential risk for legionellosis, we analyzed Legionella contamination of water distribution systems in 36 recreational facilities equipped with swimming pools. One hundred and sixty water samples were analyzed from shower heads or taps located in locker rooms or in bathrooms. By culture method and polymerase chain reaction, 41/160 samples were positive for Legionella from 12/36 recreational centers. Hotels (57.1%) and sports centers (41.2%) were the most contaminated. L. pneumophila serotypes 2-14 (25/41) were more frequently found than serotype 1 (10/41). Samples at temperature ≥30 °C were more frequently positive than samples at temperature 10 CFU/mL. Maintenance, good hygiene practices, interventions on the hydraulic system and regular controls must be implemented to minimize exposure to L. pneumophila infection risk.
ISSN:1477-8920
1996-7829
DOI:10.2166/wh.2017.296