Are pathogenic Legionella non-pneumophila a common bacteria in Water Distribution Networks?

Exploring the bacterial diversity and composition with special emphasis on pathogens in ship ballast water and sediments using full-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing

Accurate detecting bacterial communities in ballast water and sediments supports risk management. This study uses full-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing to investigate the bacterial communities in ballast water and sediments, focusing on detecting pathogens. The results indicate that full-length sequencing more accurately reveals the species diversity. There is a significant difference (P < 0.05) in bacterial communities between ballast water and sediments, despite both being dominated by the Proteobacteria phylum. Thirty human and fish pathogens were identified by full-length sequencing, yet only five pathogens were detected from V3-V4 sequencing. Notably, emerging pathogens such as Citrobacter freundii and Nocardia nova are detected in samples, which are harmful to aquaculture and human health. Several opportunistic pathogens were also identified. In summary, this study provides important insights into the bacterial communities in ballast water and sediments, highlighting the need for strict management.

Legionella relative abundance in shower hose biofilms is associated with specific microbiome members

Legionella are natural inhabitants of building plumbing biofilms, where interactions with other microorganisms influence their survival, proliferation, and death. Here, we investigated the associations of Legionella with bacterial and eukaryotic microbiomes in biofilm samples extracted from 85 shower hoses of a multiunit residential building. Legionella spp. relative abundance in the biofilms ranged between 0-7.8%, of which only 0-0.46% was L. pneumophila. Our data suggest that some microbiome members were associated with high (e.g. Chthonomonas, Vrihiamoeba) or low (e.g. Aquabacterium, Vannella) Legionella relative abundance. The correlations of the different Legionella variants (30 Zero-Radius OTUs detected) showed distinct patterns, suggesting separate ecological niches occupied by different Legionella species. This study provides insights into the ecology of Legionella with respect to: (i) the colonization of a high number of real shower hoses biofilm samples; (ii) the ecological meaning of associations between Legionella and co-occurring bacterial/eukaryotic organisms; (iii) critical points and future directions of microbial-interaction-based-ecological-investigations.

Enteric pathogen reduction targets for onsite non-potable water systems: A critical evaluation

Onsite non-potable water systems (ONWS) collect and treat local source waters for non-potable end uses such as toilet flushing and irrigation. Quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) has been used to set pathogen log10-reduction targets (LRTs) for ONWS to achieve the risk benchmark of 10-4 infections per person per year (ppy) in a series of two efforts completed in 2017 and 2021. In this work, we compare and synthesize the ONWS LRT efforts to inform the selection of pathogen LRTs. For onsite wastewater, greywater, and stormwater, LRTs for human enteric viruses and parasitic protozoa were within 1.5-log10 units between 2017 and 2021 efforts, despite differences in approaches used to characterize pathogens in these waters. For onsite wastewater and greywater, the 2017 effort used an epidemiology-based model to simulate pathogen concentrations contributed exclusively from onsite waste and selected Norovirus as the viral reference pathogen; the 2021 effort used municipal wastewater pathogen data and cultivable adenoviruses as the reference viral pathogen. Across source waters, the greatest differences occurred for viruses in stormwater, given the newly available municipal wastewater characterizations used for modeling sewage contributions in 2021 and the different selection of reference pathogens (Norovirus vs. adenoviruses). The roof runoff LRTs support the need for protozoa treatment, but these remain difficult to characterize due to the pathogen variability in roof runoff across space and time. The comparison highlights adaptability of the risk-based approach, allowing for updated LRTs as site specific or improved information becomes available. Future research efforts should focus on data collection of onsite water sources.

Microbiological quality of roof tank water in an urban village in southeastern China

Urban villages are unique residential neighborhoods in urban areas in China. Roof tanks are their main form of water supply, and water quality deterioration might occur in this system because of poor hygienic conditions and maintenance. In this study, water samples were seasonally collected from an urban village to investigate the influence of roof tanks as an additional water storage device on the variation in the microbial community structure and pathogenic gene markers. Water stagnation in the roof tank induced significant decreases in chlorine (p < 0.05), residual chlorine was as low as 0.02 mg/L in spring. Propidium monoazide (PMA)-qPCR revealed a one-magnitude higher level of total viable bacterial concentration in roof tank water samples (2.14 ± 1.81 × 10⁵ gene copies/mL) than that in input water samples (3.57 ± 2.90 × 10⁴ gene copies/mL, p < 0.05), especially in spring and summer. In addition, pathogenic fungi, Mycobacterium spp., and Legionella spp. were frequently detected in the roof tanks. Terminal users might be exposed to higher microbial risk induced by high abundance of Legionella gene marker. Spearman's rank correlation and redundancy analysis showed that residual chlorine was the driving force that promoted bacterial colonization and shaped the microbial community. It is worth noted that the sediment in the pipe will be agitated when the water supply is restored after the water outages, which can trigger an increase in turbidity and bacterial biomass. Overall, the findings provide practical suggestions for controlling microbiological health risks in roof tanks in urban villages.

Four-Year Environmental Surveillance Program of Legionella spp. in One of Palermo’s Largest Hospitals

Legionella is a ubiquitous bacterium that lives in freshwater environments and colonizes human-made water systems. Legionella pneumophila is the most virulent species, and risk factors for Legionnaires’ disease include increasing age, smoking, chronic diseases, and immunodeficiency. For this reason, it is very important to assess and monitor hospital water systems in order to prevent legionellosis. We have monitored a large hospital in Palermo for four years. To determine the presence of microorganisms, according to national guidelines, we used the culture method, which is considered the gold standard for Legionella detection. Sampling was divided into five macro-areas, and a total of 251 samples were collected during the period of investigation, 49% of which were Legionella spp.-positive and 51% were Legionella spp.-negative. Positive samples with L. pneumophila. sgr 2-15 were most frequent in the Underground (55.6%, p = 0.0184), Medicine (42.9%, p = 0.0184) and Other (63.2%, p = 0.002) areas; while positive samples for L. pneumophila sgr 1 were less frequent in the Underground (0.0%, p = 0.0184) and Surgery areas (4.5%, p = 0.033), and for Legionella anisa, were less frequent in the Medicine (4.1%, p = 0.021), Oncohematology (0.0%, p = 0.0282), and Other (0.0%, p = 0.016) areas. Finally, no significant differences were observed among the areas for each isolate considered. The surveillance carried out in these years demonstrates the importance of monitoring, which allows us to analyze the conditions of hospital facilities and, therefore, prevent Legionella spp. infections.

A Tale of Four Danish Cities: Legionella pneumophila Diversity in Domestic Hot Water and Spatial Variations in Disease Incidence

Denmark has one of the highest Legionnaires' disease notification rates within Europe, averaging 4.7 cases per 100,000 population annually (2017 to 2020). The relatively high incidence of disease is not uniform across the country, and approximately 70% of all domestically acquired cases in Denmark are caused by Legionella pneumophila (LP) strains that are considered less virulent. The aim of this study was to investigate if colonization rates, levels of colonization, and/or types of LP present in hot water systems were associated with geographic differences in Legionnaires' disease incidence. Domestic water systems from four cities in Denmark were analyzed via culture and qPCR. Serogrouping and sequence typing was performed on randomly selected isolates. Single nucleotide polymorphism was used to identify clonal relationship among isolates from the four cities. The results revealed a high LP colonization rate from 68% to 87.5% among systems, composed primarily of non-serogroup 1. LP serogroup 1 reacting with the monoclonal antibody (MAb) 3/1 was not identified in any of the systems tested, while MAb 3/1 negative serogroup 1 strains were isolated from 10 systems (9.6%). We hypothesize that a combination of factors influences the incidence rate of LD in each city, including sequence type and serogroup distribution, colonization rate, concentration of Legionella in Pre-flush and Flush samples, and potentially building characteristics such as water temperature measured at the point of use.

Prevalence of opportunistic pathogens in a school building plumbing during periods of low water use and a transition to normal use

The spread of opportunistic pathogens via building water supply and plumbing is of public health concern. This study was conducted to better understand microbial water quality changes in a LEED-certified school building during low water use (Summer) and normal water use (Autumn). The copper plumbed building contained water saving devices, a hot water recirculation system, and received chloraminated drinking water from a public water system. Three separate sampling events were conducted during the summer break inside the building and another three sampling events were conducted after the school returned to session. Using quantitative PCR, Legionella spp. were detected in all water samples, followed by Mycobacterium spp. (99%). Mycobacterium avium (75%) and Acanthamoeba spp. (17.5%) throughout the building water system. Legionella pneumophila and Naegleria fowleri were not detected in any of the samples. The mean concentrations of Legionella spp., Mycobacterium spp., Mycobacterium avium, and Acanthamoeba spp. detected in water samples were 3.9, 5.7, 4.7, and 2.8 log₁₀ gene copies per 100 ml, respectively. There was a statistically significantly difference in the mean concentrations of Legionella spp., Mycobacterium spp. and M. avium gene markers in water samples between school breaks and when school was in session. Cultivable Legionella were also detected in water samples collected during periods of low water use. This study highlights the need for routine proactive water quality testing in school buildings to determine the extent of drinking water quality problems associated with plumbing and direct action to remediate microbial colonization.

Legionella: A Promising Supplementary Indicator of Microbial Drinking Water Quality in Municipal Engineered Water Systems

Opportunistic pathogens (OPs) are natural inhabitants and the predominant disease causative biotic agents in municipal engineered water systems (EWSs). In EWSs, OPs occur at high frequencies and concentrations, cause drinking-water-related disease outbreaks, and are a major factor threatening public health. Therefore, the prevalence of OPs in EWSs represents microbial drinking water quality. Closely or routinely monitoring the dynamics of OPs in municipal EWSs is thus critical to ensuring drinking water quality and protecting public health. Monitoring the dynamics of conventional (fecal) indicators (e.g., total coliforms, fecal coliforms, and Escherichia coli) is the customary or even exclusive means of assessing microbial drinking water quality. However, those indicators infer only fecal contamination due to treatment (e.g., disinfection within water utilities) failure and EWS infrastructure issues (e.g., water main breaks and infiltration), whereas OPs are not contaminants in drinking water. In addition, those indicators appear in EWSs at low concentrations (often absent in well-maintained EWSs) and are uncorrelated with OPs. For instance, conventional indicators decay, while OPs regrow with increasing hydraulic residence time. As a result, conventional indicators are poor indicators of OPs (the major aspect of microbial drinking water quality) in EWSs. An additional or supplementary indicator that can well infer the prevalence of OPs in EWSs is highly needed. This systematic review argues that Legionella as a dominant OP-containing genus and natural inhabitant in EWSs is a promising candidate for such a supplementary indicator. Through comprehensively comparing the behavior (i.e., occurrence, growth and regrowth, spatiotemporal variations in concentrations, resistance to disinfectant residuals, and responses to physicochemical water quality parameters) of major OPs (e.g., Legionella especially L. pneumophila, Mycobacterium, and Pseudomonas especially P. aeruginosa), this review proves that Legionella is a promising supplementary indicator for the prevalence of OPs in EWSs while other OPs lack this indication feature. Legionella as a dominant natural inhabitant in EWSs occurs frequently, has a high concentration, and correlates with more microbial and physicochemical water quality parameters than other common OPs. Legionella and OPs in EWSs share multiple key features such as high disinfectant resistance, biofilm formation, proliferation within amoebae, and significant spatiotemporal variations in concentrations. Therefore, the presence and concentration of Legionella well indicate the presence and concentrations of OPs (especially L. pneumophila) and microbial drinking water quality in EWSs. In addition, Legionella concentration indicates the efficacies of disinfectant residuals in EWSs. Furthermore, with the development of modern Legionella quantification methods (especially quantitative polymerase chain reactions), monitoring Legionella in ESWs is becoming easier, more affordable, and less labor-intensive. Those features make Legionella a proper supplementary indicator for microbial drinking water quality (especially the prevalence of OPs) in EWSs. Water authorities may use Legionella and conventional indicators in combination to more comprehensively assess microbial drinking water quality in municipal EWSs. Future work should further explore the indication role of Legionella in EWSs and propose drinking water Legionella concentration limits that indicate serious public health effects and require enhanced treatment (e.g., booster disinfection).

The use of BCYE medium for the detection of Legionella in environmental water samples: an appropriate update to ISO 11731:2017 standard?

We evaluated the diagnostic performances of 2 media (BCYE, MWY) on 951 Legionella-positive hospital water samples. MWY allowed detecting Legionella in 89.2% of samples, but in 10.8% (103/951) Legionella was found on BCYE plates only. In samples where Legionella was isolated with other microorganisms (663/951), MWY was essential to detect the majority of positive samples (349/663, 52.6%), as fewer plates resulted unreadable; however, in those containing Legionella only, a higher frequency of positive samples was recorded with BCYE (94.8%, 273/288) compared to MWY (85.1%, 245/288). Considering the 484 concordant positive samples, overall Legionella counts were significantly higher on BCYE (P = 0.0029), with 47% of samples showing higher counts on BCYE compared to MWY plates. Furthermore, discordant samples (positive on only one medium) showed different relative proportions between Legionella pneumophila and non-pneumophila, the latter being found more frequently on BCYE only (P = 0.0296).Our findings confirm the appropriateness of the ISO 11731:2017 update.

Intracellular Behaviour of Legionella Non-pneumophila Strains within Three Amoeba Strains, Including Willaertia magna C2c Maky

Legionellosis, an often-lethal pneumonia, is generally associated with contamination by Legionella pneumophila. This bacterium can persist in the environment and resist chemical treatment when it is internalized by amoebae. In addition, there is increasing medical proof that other Legionella species can be causative agents of Legionellosis. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether Legionella non-pneumophila (Lnp) strains were able to use the machinery of amoeba to multiply, or whether amoebae were able to limit their proliferation. Seven strains belonging to the species L. longbeachae, L. anisa, L. bozemanae, L. taurinensis, and L. dumoffii were cocultured with three amoebae, Acanthamoeba castellanii, Willaertia magna T5(S)44, and Willaertia magna C2c Maky, at two temperatures, 22 and 37 °C. We found that at 22 °C, all amoebae were able to phagocytose the seven Lnp strains and to avoid intracellular development, except for L. longbeachae, which was able to multiply inside W. magna T5(S)44. At 37 °C, four Lnp strains were able to hijack the machinery of one or two amoebae and to use it to proliferate, but none were able to multiply inside W. magna C2c Maky.

A comprehensive investigation of the microbial risk of secondary water supply systems in residential neighborhoods in a large city

Secondary water supply systems (SWSSs) are characterized by long water stagnation and low levels of chlorine residuals, which may pose a high microbial risk to terminal users. In this study, the SWSSs of 12 residential neighborhoods in a metropolitan area of 5 million people in southeastern China were seasonally investigated to assess their microbial risks by determining more than 30 physicochemical and biological parameters. Although the microbiological quality of SWSS water met the requirements of the standards for drinking water quality of China, it did deteriorate in various aspects. The heterotrophic plate counts with R2A media were high (> 100 CFU/mL) in some SWSS tank and tap water samples. Propidium monoazide (PMA)-qPCR revealed a one magnitude higher abundance of viable bacteria in the tank and tap water samples (average 10^3.63±1.10 and 10^3.65±1.25 gene copies/mL, respectively) compared with the input water samples, and Enterococcus, Acanthamoeba, and Hartmannella vermiformis were only detected in the tanks. In particular, the high detection frequency of Legionella in 35% tank and 21% tap water samples suggested it is a supplementary microbial safety indicator in SWSSs. The microbial regrowth potential was more obvious in summer, and Illumina sequencing also demonstrated distinct seasonal changes in the relative abundance of bacterial gene sequences at the genus level. Turbidity and residual chlorine were closely connected with total bacterial biomass, and the latter seemed responsible for microbial community structure alteration. The extremely low chlorine residuals associated with a high abundance of total bacteria (as high as 10^6.48 gene copies/mL) and Legionella (as high as 10^6.71 gene copies/100 mL) in the closed valve tanks highlighted the high microbial risk increased by mishandling the operation of SWSSs. This study found that SWSSs possessed a higher microbial risk than the drinking water network, which suggested that the frequency and scope of monitoring the microbial risk of SWSSs in megacities should be strengthened for the purpose of waterborne epidemic disease prevention and control.

Legionella and other opportunistic pathogens in full-scale chloraminated municipal drinking water distribution systems

Water-based opportunistic pathogens (OPs) are a leading cause of drinking-water-related disease outbreaks, especially in developed countries such as the United States (US). Physicochemical water quality parameters, especially disinfectant residuals, control the (re)growth, presence, colonization, and concentrations of OPs in drinking water distribution systems (DWDSs), while the relationship between OPs and those parameters remain unclear. This study aimed to quantify how physicochemical parameters, mainly monochloramine residual concentration, hydraulic residence time (HRT), and seasonality, affected the occurrence and concentrations of four common OPs (Legionella, Mycobacterium, Pseudomonas, and Vermamoeba vermiformis) in four full-scale DWDSs in the US. Legionella as a dominant OP occurred in 93.8% of the 64 sampling events and had a mean density of 4.27 × 105 genome copies per liter. Legionella positively correlated with Mycobacterium, Pseudomonas, and total bacteria. Multiple regression with data from the four DWDSs showed that Legionella had significant correlations with total chlorine residual level, free ammonia concentration, and trihalomethane concentration. Therefore, Legionella is a promising indicator of water-based OPs, reflecting microbial water quality in chloraminated DWDSs. The OP concentrations had strong seasonal variations and peaked in winter and/or spring possibly because of reduced water usage (i.e., increased water stagnation or HRT) during cold seasons. The OP concentrations generally increased with HRT presumably because of disinfectant residual decay, indicating the importance of well-maintaining disinfectant residuals in DWDSs for OP control. The concentrations of Mycobacterium, Pseudomonas, and V. vermiformis were significantly associated with total chlorine residual concentration, free ammonia concentration, and pH and trihalomethane concentration, respectively. Overall, this study demonstrates how the significant spatiotemporal variations of OP concentrations in chloraminated DWDSs correlated with critical physicochemical water quality parameters such as disinfectant residual levels. This work also indicates that Legionella is a promising indicator of OPs and microbial water quality in chloraminated DWDSs.

Legionella feeleii: Ubiquitous Pathogen in the Environment and Causative Agent of Pneumonia

L. feeleii is one of the most frequent Legionella species isolated from natural pools of the central region of Spain. This study aimed to evaluate its ecology and to identify this Legionella species as a respiratory pathogen. A PCR assay for detecting the L. feeleii mip gene was developed to identify it in clinical and environmental samples. Culture and PCR were performed in environmental samples from four drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs). Free L. feeleii was only detected in raw water samples (3.4%), while L. feeleii as an Acanthamoeba endosymbiont was found in 30.7% of raw water, 11.5% of decanter biofilm, and 32% of finished water samples. Therefore, Acanthamoeba spp. plays an essential role in the multiplication, persistence, and spread of Legionella species in the environment. The first case of Legionnaires’ disease caused by L. feeleii in Spain is described in this study. The case was diagnosed in an older woman through PCR and sequencing from urine and sputum samples. A respiratory infection could be linked with health care procedures, and the patient presented several risk factors (age, insulin-dependent diabetes, and heart disease). The detection of non-L. pneumophila, such as L. feeleii, is a factor that must be considered when establishing or reviewing measures for the control and prevention of legionellosis.

Using complex network analysis for water quality assessment in large water distribution systems

Assessing and modelling the water quality in a water distribution system (WDS) are highly important to ensure a reliable supply with sufficient water quality. Owing to the high computational burden of such an analysis, frequently, simplifications are required or surrogate models are used (e.g., reducing the level of detail of the network model), neglecting significant aspects. For large (currently all-pipe) models and/or recurrent simulations (e.g., integrated studies, sensitivity analysis, deep uncertainty analysis, design, and optimization), the computational burden further increases. In this study, a novel complex network analysis-based approach for high-computational efficiency water quality assessment in a WDS is developed and comprehensively tested (R² values in comparison with state-of-the-art nodal water qualities in median of 0.95 are achieved). The proposed model is successfully utilized in a design study to identify the design solutions exceeding water quality thresholds with a correct identification rate between 96% and 100%. The computational efficiency is determined to be a factor 4.2e-06 less than that of state-of-the-art models. Therefore, the proposed model significantly improves the water quality assessment for such tasks in large WDSs.