Beware of <i>Legionella</i> in Water Distribution Systems

Malz, Dan

doi:10.1002/awwa.1753

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 10 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In 24% of cases (155/645), borderline contamination (over 100 but less than 1000 CFU/L) was found, indicating the need for careful surveillance of the phenomenon. As research has shown, keeping Legionella under control in a water distribution system always requires an optimal systematic schedule of disinfection, water management, nutrient limitation, and temperature control [16,24]. In this regard, it should be noted that the decrease in the positivity rate observed in our study is attributable to the effectiveness of the sanitization protocols put in place.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 57%

Legionella and Air Transport: A Study of Environmental Contamination

Treglia

Pallocci²,

Tenore³

et al. 2022

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Introduction: There is growing interest in the public health and transport sectors in research into exposure to biological hazards, considering not only the risks arising from inter-human contagion, but also those related to exposure to the flight environment itself. The aim of this paper is to report data from an investigation into the water and air-conditioning systems of commercial aircraft for the presence of Legionella contamination, with a total of 645 water samples taken during the period 2007–2021. Methods: The investigation involved 126 aircraft of six different commercial aircraft types: MD80, Airbus A320 F, Embraer 175/190, AIRBUS A330, Boeing 767 and Boeing 777. Water samples were taken from the water systems (toilet taps, galley and boilers). Each sample was preliminarily subjected to an evaluation of the following parameters: temperature, pH and residual chlorine. The ScanVit® Legionella kit was used for bacteria detection and enumeration. Results: Samples were considered positive if the number of colony-forming units/liter (CFU/L) was >100. For the entire observation period, 45% of the investigated aircraft tested positive. Regarding the overall number of samples analyzed, 68.4% (441/645) were below 100 CFU/L, and thus within the limits allowed by the Italian Guidelines. Conclusions: Water system contamination with Legionella in the air transport field is a real public health issue that should not be underestimated given the heavy passenger traffic. Infection should be considered an occupational risk to which crew members are exposed.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 57%

Legionella and Air Transport: A Study of Environmental Contamination

Treglia

Pallocci²,

Tenore³

et al. 2022

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A well‐developed QA/QC program supports the production of reliable data, which in turn supports good decision‐making throughout a utility (Jarvis & London‐Exner 2019). Further, utilities should have a clear communications plan so that data can be reported within the utility and/or to the public quickly and efficiently, especially during an emergency (Malz 2021).…”

Section: Laboratory Accreditation Guides Best Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of Best Practices for an Environmental Laboratory

Adams¹,

Holloway²,

Fleming³

et al. 2022

Journal AWWA

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Key Takeaways Utilities with environmental laboratories can monitor water and wastewater treatment plant processes and water quality from source, through distribution, and to the consumer's tap. “Best laboratory practices” are criteria intended to ensure that environmental laboratories produce reliable and defensible water quality data that comply with regulatory requirements. Accreditation and robust quality control and quality assurance, ethics, safety, and other laboratory program criteria support data integrity and protection of public health.

show abstract

“…3 Recently, the rate of occurrence of confirmed legionellosis in the United States has been rising, from approximately 1 case per 100,000 people in 2010 to 3 cases per 100,000 people in 2018. 4 Furthermore, the report of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) on the management of Legionella in water systems estimates that true incidence of both inpatient and outpatient Legionnaire's disease could have been as high as 20−27 cases per 100,000 people in 2020. 2 Opportunistic pathogens (OPs), such as Legionella spp., Mycobacterium spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Acanthamoeba, are removed or inactivated during drinking water treatment.…”

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It also can cause a milder, influenza-like illness known as Pontiac Fever . Recently, the rate of occurrence of confirmed legionellosis in the United States has been rising, from approximately 1 case per 100,000 people in 2010 to 3 cases per 100,000 people in 2018 . Furthermore, the report of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) on the management of Legionella in water systems estimates that true incidence of both inpatient and outpatient Legionnaire’s disease could have been as high as 20–27 cases per 100,000 people in 2020…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment Framework Incorporating Water Ages with Legionella pneumophila Growth Rates

Clements,

Crank,

Nerenberg

et al. 2024

Environ. Sci. Technol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Water age in drinking water systems is often used as a proxy for water quality but is rarely used as a direct input in assessing microbial risk. This study directly linked water ages in a premise plumbing system to concentrations of Legionella pneumophila via a growth model. In turn, the L. pneumophila concentrations were used for a quantitative microbial risk assessment to calculate the associated probabilities of infection (P inf ) and clinically severe illness (P csi ) due to showering. Risk reductions achieved by purging devices, which reduce water age, were also quantified. The median annual P inf exceeded the commonly used 1 in 10,000 (10 −4 ) risk benchmark in all scenarios, but the median annual P csi was always 1−3 orders of magnitude below 10 −4 . The median annual P csi was lower in homes with two occupants (4.7 × 10 −7 ) than with one occupant (7.5 × 10 −7 ) due to more frequent use of water fixtures, which reduced water ages. The median annual P csi for homes with one occupant was reduced by 39−43% with scheduled purging 1−2 times per day. Smart purging devices, which purge only after a certain period of nonuse, maintained these lower annual P csi values while reducing additional water consumption by 45−62%.

show abstract

Beware of Legionella in Water Distribution Systems

Cited by 3 publications

References 10 publications

Legionella and Air Transport: A Study of Environmental Contamination

Legionella and Air Transport: A Study of Environmental Contamination

Review of Best Practices for an Environmental Laboratory

Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment Framework Incorporating Water Ages with Legionella pneumophila Growth Rates

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About