scholarly journals Management of Microbiological Contamination of the Water Network of a Newly Built Hospital Pavilion

Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 75
Author(s):  
Osvalda De Giglio ◽  
Giusy Diella ◽  
Marco Lopuzzo ◽  
Francesco Triggiano ◽  
Carla Calia ◽  
...  

The good installation, as well as commissioning plan, of a water network is a crucial step in reducing the risk of waterborne diseases. The aim of this study was to monitor the microbiological quality of water from a newly built pavilion before it commenced operation. Overall, 91 water samples were tested for coliforms, Escherichia coli, enterococci, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Legionella at three different times: T0 (without any water treatment), T1 (after treatment with hydrogen peroxide and silver ions at initial concentration of 20 mg/L and after flushing of water for 20 min/day for seven successive days) and T2 (15 days later). Coliforms were detected in 47.3% of samples at T0, 36.3% at T1 and 4.4% at T2. E. coli was isolated in 4.4% of the samples only at T1, while enterococci appeared in 12.1% of the samples at T1 and in 2.2% at T2. P. aeruginosa was isolated in 50.5% of the samples at T0, 29.7% at T1 and 1.1% at T2. Legionella pneumophila serogroup 8 was isolated in 80.2% of the samples at T0, 36.3% at T1 and 2.2% at T2. Our results confirmed the need for a water safety plan in new hospital pavilions to prevent the risk of waterborne diseases.

2009 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Sofia Valente ◽  
Paulo Pedro ◽  
M. Carmen Alonso ◽  
Juan J. Borrego ◽  
Lídia Dionísio

Monitoring the microbiological quality of water used for recreational activities is very important to human public health. Although the sanitary quality of recreational marine waters could be evaluated by standard methods, they are time-consuming and need confirmation. For these reasons, faster and more sensitive methods, such as the defined substrate-based technology, have been developed. In the present work, we have compared the standard method of membrane filtration using Tergitol-TTC agar for total coliforms and Escherichia coli, and Slanetz and Bartley agar for enterococci, and the IDEXX defined substrate technology for these faecal pollution indicators to determine the microbiological quality of natural recreational waters. ISO 17994:2004 standard was used to compare these methods. The IDEXX for total coliforms and E. coli, Colilert®, showed higher values than those obtained by the standard method. Enterolert® test, for the enumeration of enterococci, showed lower values when compared with the standard method. It may be concluded that more studies to evaluate the precision and accuracy of the rapid tests are required in order to apply them for routine monitoring of marine and freshwater recreational bathing areas. The main advantages of these methods are that they are more specific, feasible and simpler than the standard methodology.


Author(s):  
Francesca Serio ◽  
Lucia Martella ◽  
Giovanni Imbriani ◽  
Adele Idolo ◽  
Francesco Bagordo ◽  
...  

Background: The quality of water for human consumption is an objective of fundamental importance for the defense of public health. Since the management of networks involves many problems of control and efficiency of distribution, the Water Safety Plan (WSP) was introduced to address these growing problems. Methods: WSP was applied to three companies in which the water resource assumes central importance: five water kiosks, a third-range vegetable processing company, and a residence and care institution. In drafting the plan, the terms and procedures designed and tested for the management of urban distribution systems were applied to safeguard the resource over time. Results: The case studies demonstrated the reliability of the application of the model even to small drinking-water systems, even though it involved a greater effort in analyzing the incoming water, the local intended use, and the possibilities for managing the containment of the dangers to which it is exposed. This approach demonstrates concrete effectiveness in identifying and mitigating the dangers of altering the quality of water. Conclusions: Thanks to the WSP applied to small drinking-water systems, we can move from management that is focused mainly on verifying the conformity of the finished product to the creation of a global risk assessment and management system that covers the entire water supply chain.


2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaurav Saxena ◽  
Ram Naresh Bharagava ◽  
Gaurav Kaithwas ◽  
Abhay Raj

Water is critical for life, but many people do not have access to clean and safe drinking water and die because of waterborne diseases. The analysis of drinking water for the presence of indicator microorganisms is key to determining microbiological quality and public health safety. However, drinking water-related illness outbreaks are still occurring worldwide. Moreover, different indicator microorganisms are being used in different countries as a tool for the microbiological examination of drinking water. Therefore, it becomes very important to understand the potentials and limitations of indicator microorganisms before implementing the guidelines and regulations designed by various regulatory agencies. This review provides updated information on traditional and alternative indicator microorganisms with merits and demerits in view of their role in managing the waterborne health risks as well as conventional and molecular methods proposed for monitoring of indicator and pathogenic microorganisms in the water environment. Further, the World Health Organization (WHO) water safety plan is emphasized in order to develop the better approaches designed to meet the requirements of safe drinking water supply for all mankind, which is one of the major challenges of the 21st century.


Author(s):  
Amin Kishipour ◽  
Roqiyeh Mostafaloo ◽  
Mohsen Mehdipour Rabori ◽  
Esfandiar Ghordouei-Milan ◽  
Farzaneh Hosseini ◽  
...  

Introduction: The water safety plan is a systematic approach that aims to ensure the quality of water distributed to consumers. In 2004, the World Health Organization issued a statement implementing the water safety plan. The plan is underway in Iran. The purpose of this study is to review the studies conducted from 2004 to 2020. Materials and Methods: Present article is a systematic review study to search for keywords in a combination of "water safety plan" (WSP), "Iran", "Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points", (HACCP) and "water" in international databases including: PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar, as well as national databases include: Magiran and SID. Results: In the initial search, 671 articles were found that after screening based on the Prisma checklist, 15 articles were included in the study for further review. The results showed that in the implementation of WSP, the highest score is related to Qom city with 68.64% and the lowest value is related to Khoy city with 17.5%. Improvement and upgrade program, support program development, and review of WSP courses have received less attention. Low staff familiarity with WSP, insufficient team composition and lack of coordination between them in holding regular meetings can be the reason for poor implementation of WSP in Iran. Conclusion: The full implementation of the water safety plan controls the risks in the water supply system and reduces costs, as well as improves and increases the quality of water distributed to consumers.


2003 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 101-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Jagals ◽  
C. Jagals ◽  
T. C. Bokako

Studies in Southern Africa have shown that even when microbiologically safe water is supplied to developing communities at communal standpipes, contamination by high numbers of pathogenic microorganisms may occur during the processes of fetching water from the supply source and storage during use at home, rendering such waters unsafe for human consumption. This study investigated the occurrence of biofilm in PVC storage containers as one possible reason for this deterioration, using heterotrophic bacteria and total coliform counts as well as turbidity as indicators. A second objective was to determine whether biofilm in water-storage containers could contribute to hazardous microbiological contamination indicated by Escherichia coli and Clostridium perfringens. Results indicated that increased microbiological contamination is associated with biofilm. The biofilm harbours heterotrophic bacteria, total coliforms and C. perfringens. E. coli could not be associated directly with the levels of biofilm in containers but rather appears to be introduced intermittently from the ambient domestic environment. When dislodged with the biofilm, these bacteria contributed substantially to the deterioration of the microbiological quality of supplied water stored in plastic containers.


2005 ◽  
Vol 71 (8) ◽  
pp. 4690-4695 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clarivel Lasalde ◽  
Roberto Rodríguez ◽  
Gary A. Toranzos

ABSTRACT Analyses for the presence of indicator organisms provide information on the microbiological quality of water. Indicator organisms recommended by the United States Environmental Protection Agency for monitoring the microbiological quality of water include Escherichia coli, a thermotolerant coliform found in the feces of warm-blooded animals. These bacteria can also be isolated from environmental sources such as the recreational and pristine waters of tropical rain forests in the absence of fecal contamination. In the present study, E. coli isolates were compared to E. coli K12 (ATCC 29425) by restriction fragment length polymorphism using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Theoretically, genomic DNA patterns generated by PFGE are highly specific for the different isolates of an organism and can be used to identify variability between environmental and fecal isolates. Our results indicate a different band pattern for almost every one of the E. coli isolates analyzed. Cluster analysis did not show any relations between isolates and their source of origin. Only the discriminant function analysis grouped the samples with the source of origin. The discrepancy observed between the cluster analysis and discriminant function analysis relies on their mathematical basis. Our validation analyses indicate the presence of an artifact (i.e., grouping of environmental versus fecal samples as a product of the statistical analyses used and not as a result of separation in terms of source of origin) in the classification results; therefore, the large genetic heterogeneity observed in these E. coli populations makes the grouping of isolates by source rather difficult, if not impossible.


2011 ◽  
Vol 74 (9) ◽  
pp. 1531-1535 ◽  
Author(s):  
LEI ZHANG ◽  
JONG Y. JEONG ◽  
KISHOREKUMAR K. JANARDHANAN ◽  
ELLIOT T. RYSER ◽  
IKSOON KANG

Carcass chilling during broiler processing is a critical step in preventing growth of pathogenic and spoilage bacteria. The objective of this study was to compare the microbiological quality of air- and water-chilled broiler carcasses processed at the same commercial facility. For each of four replications, 15 broilers were collected from the same commercial processing line after evisceration, after spraying with cetylpyridinium chloride (a cationic disinfectant), and after air chilling or water immersion chilling (WIC). All carcasses were quantitatively examined for mesophilic aerobic bacteria, Escherichia coli, coliforms, and Campylobacter as well as for the presence of Salmonella and Campylobacter. No significant differences (P > 0.05) were seen between air and water chilling for E. coli or coliforms or for the incidence of Salmonella and Campylobacter. Lower numbers of Campylobacter were recovered from WIC than from air-chilled carcasses (P < 0.05), but the incidence of Campylobacter on WIC carcasses was similar, suggesting that some Campylobacter organisms were injured rather than killed during WIC. In-line spraying with the disinfectant effectively decreased the incidence of Salmonella and Campylobacter on prechilled carcasses; however, cells presumably injured by the sanitizer recovered during chilling. Therefore, on-farm intervention strategies remain critically important in minimizing the spread of microbial contaminants during processing.


2010 ◽  
Vol 56 (6) ◽  
pp. 471-479 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Ahmed ◽  
A. Goonetilleke ◽  
T. Gardner

The study aimed to evaluate the suitability of Escherichia coli , enterococci, and Clostridium perfringens for assessing the microbiological quality of roof-harvested rainwater and assessing whether the concentrations of these faecal indicators can be used to predict the presence or absence of specific zoonotic bacterial or protozoan pathogens. From a total of 100 samples tested, 58%, 83%, and 46% of samples were found to be positive for, respectively, E. coli, enterococci, and Clostridium perfringens spores, as determined by traditional culture-based methods. Additionally, in the samples tested, 7%, 19%, 1%, 8%, 17%, and 15% were PCR positive for Aeromonas hydrophila lip, Campylobacter coli ceuE, Campylobacter jejuni mapA, Legionella pneumophila mip, Salmonella invA, and Giardia lamblia β-giardin genes, respectively. However, none of the samples was positive for E. coli O157 lipopolysaccharide, verocytotoxin 1, and verocytotoxin 2 and Cryptosporidium parvum oocyst wall protein genes. The presence or absence of these potential pathogens did not correlate with any of the faecal indicator bacterial concentrations as determined by a binary logistic regression model. The roof-harvested rainwater samples tested in this study appeared to be of poor microbiological quality, and no significant correlation was found between the concentration of faecal indicators and pathogenic microorganisms. The use of faecal indicator bacteria raises questions regarding their reliability in assessing the microbiological quality of water and particularly their poor correlation with pathogenic microorganisms. The presence of one or more zoonotic pathogens suggests that the microbiological analysis of water should be performed and that appropriate treatment measures should be undertaken, especially in tanks where the water is used for drinking.


2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 996-1005 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Leoni ◽  
T. Sanna ◽  
F. Zanetti ◽  
L. Dallolio

The study aimed to assess the efficacy of an integrated water safety plan (WSP) in controlling Legionella re-growth in a respiratory hydrotherapy system located in a spa centre, supplied with sulphurous water, which was initially colonized by Legionella pneumophila. Heterotrophic plate counts, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Legionella spp. were detected in water samples taken 6-monthly from the hydrotherapy equipment (main circuit, entry to benches, final outlets). On the basis of the results obtained by the continuous monitoring and the changes in conditions, the original WSP, including physical treatments of water and waterlines, environmental surveillance and microbiological monitoring, was integrated introducing a UV/ultrafiltration system. The integrated treatment applied to the sulphurous water (microfiltration/UV irradiation/ultrafiltration), waterlines (superheated stream) and distal outlets (descaling/disinfection of nebulizers and nasal irrigators), ensured the removal of Legionella spp. and P. aeruginosa and a satisfactory microbiological quality over time. The environmental surveillance was successful in evaluating the hazard and identifying the most suitable preventive strategies to avoid Legionella re-growth. Ultrafiltration is a technology to take into account in the control of microbial contamination of therapeutic spas, since it does not modify the chemical composition of the water, thus allowing it to retain its therapeutic properties.


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