Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25712880›Full record

ArticleEnvironmental science and pollution research international2015

Environmental surveillance and molecular epidemiology of waterborne pathogen Legionella pneumophila in health-care facilities of Northeastern Greece: a 4-year survey.

Ioanna G Alexandropoulou, Spyridon Ntougias, Theocharis G Konstantinidis, Theodoros A Parasidis, Maria Panopoulou, Theodoros C Constantinidis

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Article in Environmental science and pollution research international, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Microorganisms · 2025
    Article
  2. Review
  3. Presence of Viable, Clinically RelevantMicrobiology spectrum · 2022
    Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Ioanna G AlexandropoulouLaboratory of Hygiene and Environmental Protection, Medical School, Democritus University of Thrace, Campus (Dragana) Building 5, 68100, Alexandroupolis, Greece, ialexand@med.duth.gr.
Spyridon Ntougias
Theocharis G Konstantinidis
Theodoros A Parasidis
Maria Panopoulou
Theodoros C Constantinidis

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

A 4-year proactive environmental surveillance of Legionella spp. in the water distribution and cooling systems of five health-care facilities was carried out as part of the strategy for the prevention of hospital-acquired Legionnaires' disease in Northeastern Greece. Legionella spp. were detected in 71 out of 458 collected samples. The majority of strains belonged to Legionella pneumophila serogroups 2-15 (75.0%), while all L. pneumophila serogroup 1 strains (23.6%) were isolated from a single hospital. The highest percentage of positive samples was found in distal sites (19.4%), while no Legionella strains were detected in cooling systems. Each hospital was colonized at least once with L. pneumophila, while remedial actions resulted in significant reduction of Legionella concentration. The molecular epidemiology of environmental L. pneumophila strains was also investigated using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and multi-gene sequence-based analysis. Based on RAPD patterns, L. pneumophila serogroups 2-15 and serogroup 1 strains were classified into 24 and 9 operational taxonomic units (OTUs), respectively. Sequencing of housekeeping and diversifying pressure-related genes recommended by European Working Group for Legionella Infections (EWGLI) revealed not only a high intraspecies variability but also the circulation and persistence of one specific genotyping profile in the majority of hospitals. This study highlights the necessity for diachronic surveillance of Legionella in health-care facilities by adopting both cultural and molecular methods.

Indexed as

Environmental MonitoringGenotypeWater MicrobiologyGreeceHospitalsHumansLegionella pneumophilaLegionnaires' DiseaseRandom Amplified Polymorphic DNA TechniqueWater Supply

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.