Investigation of the presence of Legionella pneumophila in water samples from Erzurum and surrounding provinces in Turkey

Introduction and objective. Legionnaires' disease, which is a waterborne disease leading to pneumonia that can result in death, is one of the major health issues today. The study aims to carry out a three-year retrospective review of routine Legionella follow-up analyses in various samples taken mostly from hospitals in the province of Erzurum and nearby provinces, and to discover a the frequency of isolation of the agent and serogroups from each kind of media. Materials and method. The study included a total of 2,025 water samples taken from hospitals, hotels, Turkish baths and shopping malls in Erzurum, and 13 nearby cities between 2016 and 2018. Samples were filtered by 0.45 mu m-diameter membrane filter paper in the Public Health Laboratory of Erzurum and examined for L. pneumophila using culture method, according to the criteria set out in ISO 11731-2. Results. The presence of L. pneumophila was found in 65 of the 2,025 water samples taken in hospitals, and in none of 40 samples taken in hotels, Turkish baths and shopping malls. L. pneumophila serogroup 2-14 was detected in 46 (70.8%) of 65 samples found positive, whereas L. pneumophila serogroup 1 was detected in 18 (27.7%). Furthermore, both the L. pneumophila serogroup 2-14 and L. pneumophila serogroup 1 were detected simultaneously in one example (1.5%). The first three samples indicate that the highest positivity rates were in hot water taps (11.6%), hot water tanks (6.1%) and shower heads (4.8%). Conclusions. The Prevalence rat of L. pneumophila was found to be quite low compared to other studies conducted in the western regions of Turkey. Legionella positivity was found to be higher in the hot water systems of hospitals and related points, compared to the other sample points.