Article ; Online: Predicting Legionella contamination in cooling towers and evaporative condensers from microbiological and physicochemical parameters.
International journal of hygiene and environmental health
2023 Volume 248, Page(s) 114117
Abstract: Background: Inhalation of Legionella-containing aerosols generated by cooling towers (CT) and evaporative condensers (EC) where water risk management is not performed correctly has been linked to a high percentage of community outbreaks of Legionnaires' ...
Abstract | Background: Inhalation of Legionella-containing aerosols generated by cooling towers (CT) and evaporative condensers (EC) where water risk management is not performed correctly has been linked to a high percentage of community outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease (LD). Likewise, microbiological and physicochemical characteristics of the water in these facilities have been associated with this bacterium. The main aim of this study was to assess the risk of Legionella colonization in CT and EC based on the data for microbiological and physicochemical water quality provided by the Environmental Health Department and Laboratory of the City Council of L'Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona, Spain). Methods: Legionella was analysed in 789 samples collected from 127 CT and EC in 46 companies in Catalonia from 2002 to 2019. A two-step logistic regression analysis was carried out to assess the risk of colonization by Legionella in the studied facilities according to the microbiological (aerobic heterotrophic bacteria) and physicochemical (pH, alkalinity, hardness, turbidity, conductivity, total iron and Langelier Index) water parameters. The optimal cut-off points for the water parameters predictive of Legionella contamination were defined as the values on the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve where sensitivity and specificity were jointly maximized. Results: Legionella was isolated in 8.49% of the 789 analysed samples, 22.39% of which were heavily contaminated (with counts higher than 1.0 × 10 Conclusions: The present study shows the importance of risk assessment for improving the control measures aimed at preventing or reducing Legionella populations in CT and EC, thus minimizing potential dangers for public health. |
---|---|
MeSH term(s) | Humans ; Legionella ; Legionella pneumophila ; Water Microbiology ; Respiratory Aerosols and Droplets ; Legionnaires' Disease/epidemiology ; Legionnaires' Disease/microbiology |
Language | English |
Publishing date | 2023-01-26 |
Publishing country | Germany |
Document type | Journal Article |
ZDB-ID | 2009176-X |
ISSN | 1618-131X ; 1438-4639 |
ISSN (online) | 1618-131X |
ISSN | 1438-4639 |
DOI | 10.1016/j.ijheh.2023.114117 |
Database | MEDical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System OnLINE |
More links
Kategorien
In stock of ZB MED Cologne/Königswinter
Zs.A 5334: Show issues | Location: Je nach Verfügbarkeit (siehe Angabe bei Bestand) bis Jg. 1994: Bestellungen von Artikeln über das Online-Bestellformular Jg. 1995 - 2021: Lesesall (2.OG) ab Jg. 2022: Lesesaal (EG) |
Order via subito
This service is chargeable due to the Delivery terms set by subito. Orders including an article and supplementary material will be classified as separate orders. In these cases, fees will be demanded for each order.