Search

Legionella pneumophila (L. pneumophila) is an opportunistic waterborne pathogen which can be transmitted to humans. Transmission to humans mainly happens through the inhalation of contaminated aerosols which can cause Legionellosis and public health concerns. The present cross-sectional study provides the first L. pneumophila contamination assessment in Jordan, aimed at estimating the presence as well as the extension of L. pneumophila contamination levels using a culturing method. In which, 183 samples of drinking water were collected from four hospitals and five hotels in Jordan. Statistical comparative assessment between the two sectors, tourism and healthcare, was conducted. L. pneumophila was detected in 64% of the collected water samples, of which the greatest level detected reached 1.26 × 105 colony forming units per liter (cfu/L). The contamination rate and concentration of L. pneumophila among the hotels sampled were significantly higher than the samples taken from the hospitals sector, 85% and 50%, respectively. The mean of colony-forming units among the samples that tested positive from hotels was 9.0 × 10³ cfu/L where in hospitals – 6.5 × 10³ cfu/L. Fifty-one percent of samples that tested positive also exceeded 1,000 cfu/L, the level conducive to infection. The seasonal effect on contamination level and frequency were found to be the strongest during spring, followed by autumn, 76% and 73%, respectively. The findings of the present study provided significant data to the water safety stakeholders, and confirmed the need to undertake microbiological surveillance of water systems in hospitals and hotels on regular basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]