The persistence of <i>Legionella pneumophila</i> in non‐sterile, sterile and artificial hard waters and their growth pattern on tap washer fittings

Schofield, Geraldine M.; Locci, R.

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2672.1985.tb03355.x

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…Once in the system the temperature of the water, < 60°C [11], presence of amoebae [12], turbidity, organic carbon, zinc, copper and algae [13] are all important factors in maintaining growth. Various components of plumbing systems are more readily colonized by legionella than others [14,15].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Each water outlet is a unique ecological niche forLegionella pneumophila

et al. 1992

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SUMMARYWe determined the natural history of the colonization of our hospital's potable water by culturing water approximately biweekly from 20 sites throughout the hospital for 4 years. Overall, 545 (24-7 %) of the 2200 samples grew Legionella pneumophila. During hyperchlorination, 11 7 % of the samples were positive while 41P6 % were positive in the absence of chlorination. There was no seasonal trend towards positivity, but there was marked inter-site variation in the semiquantitative culture results. However, a single strain of legionella (as defined by plasmid profiling) tended to persist at a site. Such a site was a unique ecological niche in that different sites in the same wing were populated by distinct strains.The two wings of our hospital had a significantly different distribution of strains of legionella -plasmid profile type III predominated in the Victoria Wing while types II and VI predominated in Centennial Wing. Twenty-four of our 28 cases of nosocomial Legionnaires' disease occurred in the Centennial Wing. Three of the four cases in the Victoria Wing were caused by plasmid profile type III while 18 of the 24 isolates from patients who acquired their infection in the Centennial Wing were type II. We conclude that each water outlet serves as its own ecological niche of L. pneumophila.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…J. MARRIE AND OTHERS Neoprene washers in particular enhance growth of this microorganism [15]. Despite physical cleaning and chemical sterilization of taps and replacement of washers with approved brands, eradication of the organism from the plumbing system is often not achieved [5].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Each water outlet is a unique ecological niche forLegionella pneumophila

et al. 1992

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“…For the growth of legionella biofilms the sampling material chosen was natural red rubber which is well known to be colonized preferentially by these and associated organisms. Some previous studies (Colbourne et al 1984;Schofield and Locci 1985) have cited rubber fitments (e.g. rubber bungs in experimental apparatus, or domestic tap washers) as sites where large numbers of legionellas have been found.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%