Isolation of Legionella pneumophila from cooling towers, public baths, hospitals, and fountains in Seoul, Korea, from 2010 to 2012

J Environ Health. 2015 Jan-Feb;77(6):58-62.

Abstract

Legionnaire's disease is associated with a high mortality rate. The authors collected 3,495 water samples in Seoul, Korea, between 2010 and 2012 from public facilities (cooling towers, public baths, hospitals, and decorative fountains), which are considered the major habitats of Legionella pneumophila. In all, 527 (15.1%) isolates of L. pneumophila were obtained by microbial culture and polymerase chain reaction. Serological diagnosis and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis were performed for the samples. The authors categorized the samples into four groups (A-D) on the basis of PFGE results. The analysis revealed that cooling towers containing the most samples with L. pneumophila serogroup 1 constituted the highest proportion of isolate. Samples from public facilities and serogroups could be distinctively classified by PFGE patterns. Thus, it is expected that source-specific features revealed through PFGE and serological analyses could serve as the basis for effectively coping with future outbreaks of L. pneumophila.

MeSH terms

  • Agglutination Tests
  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics*
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism
  • Baths
  • Colony Count, Microbial
  • Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field
  • Hospitals
  • Legionella pneumophila / classification
  • Legionella pneumophila / genetics
  • Legionella pneumophila / isolation & purification*
  • Peptidylprolyl Isomerase / genetics*
  • Peptidylprolyl Isomerase / metabolism
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • RNA Polymerase II / genetics*
  • RNA Polymerase II / metabolism
  • Seoul
  • Water Microbiology*
  • Water Supply / analysis

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • RNA Polymerase II
  • Mip protein, Legionella pneumophila
  • Peptidylprolyl Isomerase