Research

A selection of links to recent research papers available online and may be free to access. 

The conclusions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the WMSoc.

Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices and Perceived Challenges for Healthcare Workers on Water-Less ICU Care at a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Singapore

Buvaneswarran S, Chua MCW, Amin Z, Xia W, Low JM. J Hosp Infect. 2024 Jan 25:S0195-6701(24)00027-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jhin.2023.11.025. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38280438. Highlights Implementation of water-less care, including removal of sinks from patient care areas, is an emerging approach to reduce water-borne infections in high-risk areas such as intensive care units (ICUs). This… Read more »

Identification of carbapenem-resistant organism (CRO) contamination of in-room sinks in intensive care units in a new hospital bed tower

Warren BG, Smith BA, Barrett A, Graves AM, Nelson A, Gettler E, Lewis SS, Anderson DJ. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2024 Jan 19:1-8. doi: 10.1017/ice.2023.289. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38239018. Highlights The origins and timing of inpatient room sink contamination with carbapenem-resistant organisms (CROs) are poorly understood. 1,638 total environmental cultures were obtained and… Read more »

Study of Legionella pneumophila treatment with copper in drinking water by single cell-ICP-MS

Xu L, Sigler A, Chernatynskaya A, Rasmussen L, Lu J, Sahle-Demessie E, Westenberg D, Yang H, Shi H. Anal Bioanal Chem. 2023 Nov 14. doi: 10.1007/s00216-023-05033-7. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37962610. Highlights This study, developed a highly sensitive single cell (SC)-ICP-MS method to monitor L. pneumophila cell concentration and track their uptake of Cu…. Read more »

Unraveling bacterial and eukaryotic communities in secondary water supply systems: Dynamics, assembly, and health implications

Cai X, Hu Y, Zhou S, Meng D, Xia S, Wang H. Water Res. September 2023.   Highlights Secondary water supply systems (SWSSs) are crucial water supply infrastructures for high-rise buildings in metropolitan cities but are associated with increased microbial risks. The mechanisms of SWSS microbial ecology are less clear. Engineering factors such as tank… Read more »

Protozoan-Priming and Magnesium Conditioning Enhance Legionella pneumophila Dissemination and Monochloramine Resistance

Cambronne ED, Ayres C, Dowdell KS, Lawler DF, Saleh NB, Kirisits MJ. Environ Sci Technol. October 2023.   Highlights Legionella pneumophila (Lp) gains disinfection resistance by being harboured within free-living amoebae (FLA). Supplementing growth medium with 8 mM magnesium is sufficient to produce Lp grown in vitro with an infectivity equivalent to that of Lp… Read more »

Development of heat-shock resistance in Legionella pneumophila modeled by experimental evolution

Liang J, Cameron G, Faucher SP.. Appl Environ Microbiol. September 2023.   Highlights Legionella pneumophila is a key factor motivating regulations on hot water systems. Two major measures to control Legionella are high circulating temperatures intended to curtail growth and the use of superheat-and-flush pasteurization processes to eliminate established populations. Facilities often suffer recolonization of… Read more »

Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion – More than just Microorganisms

Highlights Microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) describes the effects, often negative, that a material can experience due to the presence of microorganisms. An interdisciplinary approach is required for this material/biology/chemistry-related challenge. This review highlights critical non-biological aspects of MIC that can sometimes be overlooked by microbiologists working on MIC but which are highly relevant. Gaps, methods… Read more »

Legionella in drinking water: the detection method matters – Journal of Water and Health

N Zacharias, F Waßer, L Freier, K Spies, C Koch, S Pleischl, N Mutters, T Kistemann; Legionella in drinking water: the detection method matters. J Water Health 1 July 2023; 21 (7): 884–894. Highlights The type of culture media directly impacts reported Legionella spp. concentrations. The type of culture media directly impacts the types of… Read more »

Dynamic modelling of Legionella pneumophila thermal inactivation in water – ScienceDirect

Papagianeli SD, Aspridou Z, Didos S, Chochlakis D, Psaroulaki A, Koutsoumanis K. Dynamic modelling of Legionella pneumophila thermal inactivation in water. Water Res. 2021 Feb 15;190:116743.   Highlights A predictive mathematical model describing the effect of temperature on the inactivation of Legionella pneumophila in water was developed. Thermal inactivation of L. pneumophila was monitored under… Read more »

Examining the efficacy of copper-silver ionization for management of Legionella: Recommendations for optimal use

Abstract Although copper-silver ionization (CSI) has been used for 30 years to inactivate Legionella bacteria and other opportunistic pathogens in water, the literature is a mix of both successes and failures. This paper reviews the technology and case studies to help improve the success of CSI installations. Important is a properly designed system capable of consistent… Read more »

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