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Isolation of Legionella pneumophila from the Cold Water of Hospital Ice Machines: Implications for Origin and Transmission of the Organism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Janet E. Stout ,
Victor L. Yu  and
Paul Muraca
Janet E. Stout
Affiliation:
Infectious Disease Section, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Victor L. Yu*
Affiliation:
Infectious Disease Section, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Paul Muraca
Affiliation:
Infectious Disease Section, Veterans Administration Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
*
Infectious Disease Section, VA Medical Center, University Drive C, Pittsburgh, PA 15240
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Abstract

Although the mode of transmission of L. pneumophila is as yet unclear, the hot water distribution system has been shown to be the reservoir for Legionella within the hospital environment. In this report we identify a previously unrecognized reservoir for L. pneumophila within the hospital environment, ie, the cold water dispensers of hospital ice machines. The cold water dispensers of 14 ice machines were cultured monthly over a 1-year period. Positive cultures were obtained from 8 of 14 dispensers, yielding from 1 to 300 CFU/plate. We were able to link the positivity of these cold water sites to the incoming cold water supply by recovering L. pneumophila from the cold water storage tank, which is directly supplied by the incoming municipal water line. This was accomplished by a novel enrichment experiment designed to duplicate the conditions (temperature, sediment, stagnation, and continuous seeding) of the hot water system. Our data indicate that significant contamination of cold water outlets with L. pneumophila can occur. Although no epidemiologic link to disease was made, the fact that the primary source of a patient's drinking water is from the ice machines warrants further investigation of these water sources as possible reservoirs.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 6 , Issue 4 , April 1985 , pp. 141 - 146
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 1985

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