Influence of Metal Concentration and Plumbing Materials on Legionella Contamination
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Public Health Institute of Split-Dalmatia County, Vukovarska 46, 21000 Split, Croatia
2
Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka, Braće Branchetta 20, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia
3
Department of Environmental Health, Teaching Institute of Public Health of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Krešimirova 52a, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia
4
Center for Advanced Computing and Modeling, University of Rijeka, Radmile Matejčić 2, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia
5
Department of Health Studies, University of Split, 35 P.P. 464, Ruđera Boškovića Street, 21000 Split, Croatia
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Sonia Almeria
Microorganisms 2022, 10(5), 1051; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10051051
Received: 16 April 2022
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Revised: 15 May 2022
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Accepted: 17 May 2022
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Published: 19 May 2022
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Communities in Changing Aquatic Environments)
Legionella colonization of water supply pipes is a significant public health problem. The objective of this work was to evaluate Legionella colonization in hotel hot water systems and to investigate the relationship between metal concentrations, piping materials (galvanized iron pipes and plastic pipes), and Legionella proliferation. Concentrations of calcium and magnesium ions and the presence of Legionella pneumophila were determined in a total of 108 water samples from the hot water systems of four hotels in Split-Dalmatia County over a 12-month period, and additional data on piping materials were collected. L. pneumophila was isolated in 23.1% of all samples—in 28.8% (15/52) of water samples from galvanized iron pipes and in 17.8% (10/56) of samples from plastic pipes. L. pneumophila serogroups 2–14 were isolated from all samples. This study found higher prevalence of L. pneumophila at higher concentrations of Ca and Mg ions (except for Mg and plastic pipes). The metal parts of the water supply may be important factors in Legionella contamination due to the possibility of lime scale or roughness of the pipes. Higher Ca and Mg ion concentrations increased the risk of Legionella colonization.
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Keywords:
Legionella; Legionnaires’ disease; biofilm; preventive measures; hot water; water distribution system
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MDPI and ACS Style
Rakić, A.; Vukić Lušić, D.; Jurčev Savičević, A. Influence of Metal Concentration and Plumbing Materials on Legionella Contamination. Microorganisms 2022, 10, 1051. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10051051
AMA Style
Rakić A, Vukić Lušić D, Jurčev Savičević A. Influence of Metal Concentration and Plumbing Materials on Legionella Contamination. Microorganisms. 2022; 10(5):1051. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10051051
Chicago/Turabian StyleRakić, Anita, Darija Vukić Lušić, and Anamarija Jurčev Savičević. 2022. "Influence of Metal Concentration and Plumbing Materials on Legionella Contamination" Microorganisms 10, no. 5: 1051. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10051051
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