The main focus on fungal contamination within healthcare facilities is directed at air quality and ventilation, however a relatively common source is in-premise water networks. Fungi can become part of the water pipework biofilm, with spores and hyphal fragments released into the water flow and eventually dispersed via water outlets into the environs and onto …
Recent publications have supported recognition of risk relevant to in-premise water services, and this month our attention has been captured by three American publications. Firstly, Najjar-Debbiny et al. report a high prevalence (>40% of environmental samples positive) of Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae within 1 meter of any water source. This data is highly relevant for Water Safety …
Continuous Risk Recognition from Drinking Water Sources Read More »
The new NHS England publication on “Processes for Managing & Reporting Derogations from Estates Technical Standards & Guidance” (https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/processes-for-managing-and-reporting-derogations-from-estates-technical-standards-and-guidance/) is welcomed. The publication acknowledges the importance for healthcare facilities to be designed and constructed to the highest and most appropriate level in order to deliver clean, safe and secure environments. In addition it sets out …
The provision of bottled water for patient consumption and assessment of the microbial risk remains a blind spot for infection prevention teams and water safety groups. Few consider that bottled water could be a source of Pseudomonas aeruginosa or other waterborne pathogens. There are times when bottled water could be safer and a logistically favourable …
Is Bottled Drinking Water Quality Suitable for Patient Consumption? Read More »
The College of Environmental Science and Engineering at Tongii University, Shanghai (Zhao et al, 2022) have completed an important review and analysis of published literature on the presence of fungi in drinking water (Aspergillus, Fusarium, Candida, Cryptococcus andothers). The paucity of easy and reliable analysis methods, lack of regulation and limited control strategies has led …
Non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) are microorganisms which can be found everywhere in our environment, not just in water but in soil, vegetation, aerosols and dust particles. There are over 170 NTM species identified, although not all are clinically relevant, and this number is still increasing. The widespread introduction of disinfectants within drinking water treatment processes and …
Non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria – a 21st Century Waterborne Pathogen Read More »
New Learning About Legionella With two new Legionella species discovered within the last 12 months it is clear that we continue to learn about this waterborne bacterium. Two recently published papers, including a multinational study from the innovative and hardworking ESCMID Study Group for Legionella Infections (ESGLI) (Ricci et al., 2022) reveal further important facts. …
Patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation (BMT) are profoundly immunosuppressed. Their susceptibility to even very low concentrations of environmental microorganisms including waterborne bacteria such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Legionella spp., non-tuberculous mycobacteria, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia), which would normally offer no threat to healthy or more mildly compromised individuals, becomes critical to manage. Mucosal surfaces, our semipermeable skin barrier …
Protecting High Risk Patients from Waterborne Infection Read More »
The team from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore, have recently published on the functionality of Pseudomonas aeruginosa following exposure to chlorine and UV light disinfection (Chiang et al., 2022) Their report highlights the major limitations in using cell culture methodology to assess waterborne bacteria pathogenic activity, to validate and/or …
Until recently it was a rarity to read about Cupriavidus pauculus – an occasional case study perhaps – it was certainly not a waterborne pathogen at the centre of outbreak investigations like Legionella pneumophila, Pseudomonas aeruginosa or non-tuberculous Mycobacteria. However, in 2018 the sad events unfolded from the new build Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow, …
