Occurrence and hygienic relevance of fungi in drinking water

Kanzler, D; Buzina, Walter; Paulitsch, Astrid; Du, Hao; Platzer, Sabine; Marth, Egon; Mascher, F

doi:10.1111/j.1439-0507.2007.01454.x

Cited by 60 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Adaptation and spread through indoor environments is likely enhanced by water dispersal, as a number of mycological surveys have recovered Fusarium in activated sludge (7), from tap water (26,27), and specifically from tap water in hospitals (5,6,23,24,47,55). In addition to their wide distribution in plumbing systems and in human infections, the common biofilm-forming Fusarium species are known to colonize other unusual manufactured substrates, as contaminants of soap, paint, ointments, pasteurized beverages in manufacturing plants, lubrication oils in heavy machinery, oily water, and coolant fluids (20,45,49,58).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Widespread Occurrence of Diverse Human Pathogenic Types of the Fungus Fusarium Detected in Plumbing Drains

et al. 2011

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It has been proposed that plumbing systems might serve as a significant environmental reservoir of human-pathogenic isolates of Fusarium. We tested this hypothesis by performing the first extensive multilocus sequence typing (MLST) survey of plumbing drain-associated Fusarium isolates and comparing the diversity observed to the known diversity of clinical Fusarium isolates. We sampled 471 drains, mostly in bathroom sinks, from 131 buildings in the United States using a swabbing method. We found that 66% of sinks and 80% of buildings surveyed yielded at least one Fusarium culture. A total of 297 isolates of Fusarium collected were subjected to MLST to identify the phylogenetic species and sequence types (STs) of these isolates. Our survey revealed that the six most common STs in sinks were identical to the six most frequently associated with human infections. We speculate that the most prevalent STs, by virtue of their ability to form and grow in biofilms, are well adapted to plumbing systems. Six major Fusarium STs were frequently isolated from plumbing drains within a broad geographic area and were identical to STs frequently associated with human infections.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Widespread Occurrence of Diverse Human Pathogenic Types of the Fungus Fusarium Detected in Plumbing Drains

et al. 2011

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“…Chlorine-based compounds such as sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) are the most widely used microbicidal halogens for drinking water disinfection. However, such chlorination treatments were found to be insufficient to eliminate fungi, and therefore, water distribution systems might be reservoirs for fungi, particularly the Fusarium and Aspergillus species (Anaissie & Costa 2001;Anaissie et al , 2002aGangneux et al 2002;Warris et al 2002Warris et al ,2003Kanzler et al 2008). Fungal contamination of potable water systems i.s even more dangerous in hospital settings due to the presence of immunocompromised consumers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…With regard to fungi, their occurrence in drinking water has received increasing attention in the last few decades given the risk they may pose to human health, in particular immunocompromised patients, either through the drinking of water or through dispersion, i.e nebulization, of spores in the air. Indeed, more and more studies point to water as a potential source of opportunistic, allergenic and toxigenic filamentous fungi (Kanzler et al 2008;Hageskai et al 2009). Such fungi may also survive conventional disinfection treatments, particularly within biofilm (Rosenzweig et al 1983;Doggett 2000;Exner et al 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Disinfection efficacy of chlorine and peracetic acid alone or in combination against Aspergillus spp. and Candida albicans in drinking water

Sisti

Brandi

Santi

et al. 2011

Journal of Water and Health

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The aim of the present study was to evaluate the fungicidal activity of chlorine and peracetic acid in drinking water against various pathogenic Aspergillus spp. and Candida albicans strains. A. nidulans exhibited the greatest resistance, requiring 10 ppm of chlorine for 30 min contact time for a complete inactivation. Under the same experimental conditions, peracetic acid was even less fungicidal. In this case, A. niger proved to be the most resistant species (50 ppm for 60 min for complete inactivation).All Aspergillus spp. were insensitive to 10 ppm even with extended exposure (>5 h). The combination of chlorine and peracetic acid against Aspergillus spp. did not show synergistic effects except in the case of A. flavus. Complete growth inhibition of C. albicans was observed after about 3 h contact time with 0.2 ppm. C. albicans was less sensitive to peracetic acid. Hence the concentrations of chlorine that are usually present in drinking water distribution systems are ineffective against several Aspergillus spp. and peracetic acid cannot be considered an alternative to chlorine for disinfecting drinking water. The combination of the two biocides is not very effective in eliminating filamentous fungi at the concentrations permitted for drinking water disinfection.

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“…Unlike soilborne isolates, this clone of F. oxysporum has particular phenotypic characteristics that enable its survival and growth in a particular oligotrophic environment (20). Although F. oxysporum was sporadically collected from aquatic environments, such as the sea or rivers (12), surveys of tap water generally failed to isolate F. oxysporum from nonmedical buildings (20,36,37). In contrast, F. oxysporum was detected in the water systems of three geographically distant hospitals in Houston, TX, Seattle, WA, and Baltimore, MD, and all isolates had the same TEF1 and IGS sequences (ST33) (18) as those of the clonal lineage we described.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Clonal Lineage of Fusarium oxysporum Circulates in the Tap Water of Different French Hospitals

Edel-Hermann

Sautour

Gautheron

et al. 2016

Appl Environ Microbiol

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Fusarium oxysporum is typically a soilborne fungus but can also be found in aquatic environments. In hospitals, water distribution systems may be reservoirs for the fungi responsible for nosocomial infections. F. oxysporum was previously detected in the water distribution systems of five French hospitals. Sixty-eight isolates from water representative of all hospital units that were previously sampled and characterized by translation elongation factor 1␣ sequence typing were subjected to microsatellite analysis and full-length ribosomal intergenic spacer (IGS) sequence typing. All but three isolates shared common microsatellite loci and a common two-locus sequence type (ST). This ST has an international geographical distribution in both the water networks of hospitals and among clinical isolates. The ST dominant in water was not detected among 300 isolates of F. oxysporum that originated from surrounding soils. Further characterization of 15 isolates by vegetative compatibility testing allowed us to conclude that a clonal lineage of F. oxysporum circulates in the tap water of the different hospitals. IMPORTANCEWe demonstrated that a clonal lineage of Fusarium oxysporum inhabits the water distribution systems of several French hospitals. This clonal lineage, which appears to be particularly adapted to water networks, represents a potential risk for human infection and raises questions about its worldwide distribution. N osocomial infections caused by members of the genus Fusarium have emerged over the past 2 decades (1, 2). Infections caused by Fusarium isolates may be superficial, such as keratitis and onychomycosis, but Fusarium spp. can also cause life-threatening disseminated infections in immunocompromised patients (3). The Fusarium species most often involved are the morphological species Fusarium solani and Fusarium oxysporum (4, 5). These morphological species are now recognized as species complexes due to their high level of phylogenetic diversity (6, 7).Members of the genus Fusarium have a diverse ecology that is linked to an impressive metabolic diversity together with a high genetic diversity. They are primarily known as saprophytes in the environment and are usually found in all types of soils (8-10), and they are frequently associated with plants as saprophytes, endophytes, or pathogens (9, 11). Fusaria may also be found in aquatic habitats, including natural water environments (12, 13) and drinking water distribution systems (14-17).Water distribution systems in hospitals were identified as potential reservoirs for species of Fusarium, where they are thought to be responsible for nosocomial infections (14, 18). Fusaria in water may be aerosolized into the air when the water passes through taps and showers and then inhaled by immunocompromised patients (14). In two previous studies, we detected F. oxysporum in the water distribution systems of different French hospitals, with high concentrations of up to 10 5 propagules liter Ϫ1 in some units (19,20). Heterogeneous distributions according to...

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Occurrence and hygienic relevance of fungi in drinking water

Cited by 60 publications

References 25 publications

Widespread Occurrence of Diverse Human Pathogenic Types of the Fungus Fusarium Detected in Plumbing Drains

Widespread Occurrence of Diverse Human Pathogenic Types of the Fungus Fusarium Detected in Plumbing Drains

Disinfection efficacy of chlorine and peracetic acid alone or in combination against Aspergillus spp. and Candida albicans in drinking water

A Clonal Lineage of Fusarium oxysporum Circulates in the Tap Water of Different French Hospitals

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