Legionella confirmation in cooling tower water. Comparison of culture, real-time PCR and next generation sequencing.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To investigate the presence of Legionella spp in cooling tower water. Legionella proliferation in cooling tower water has serious public health implications as it can be transmitted to humans via aerosols and cause Legionnaires' disease.

Methods

Samples of cooling tower water were collected from King Fahd Hospital of the University (KFHU) (Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, 2015/2016). The water samples were analyzed by a standard Legionella culture method, real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and 16S rRNA next-generation sequencing. In addition, the bacterial community composition was evaluated.

Results

All samples were negative by conventional Legionella culture. In contrast, all water samples yielded positive results by real-time PCR (105 t

SUBMITTER: Farhat M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5885089 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature