ArticlePloS one2017
Distribution of Legionella and bacterial community composition among regionally diverse US cooling towers.
Article in PloS one, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed.
- The Microbiota of Evaporative Cooling Systems and the Impact of Rainwater as an Alternative Water Source.Water environment research : a research publication of the Water Environment Federation · 2026Article
- Exploring α-Syn's Functions Through Ablation Models: Physiological and Pathological Implications.Cellular and molecular neurobiology · 2025Review
- Correlation between bacterial microbiome andMicrobiology spectrum · 2024Article
- Performance evaluation of a low-throughput qPCR-based Legionella assay for utility as an onsite industrial water system monitoring method.Journal of industrial microbiology & biotechnology · 2024Article
- Editorial: Special Issue: "Microorganisms · 2023Article
- Shotgun Metagenomics Reveals Impacts of Copper and Water Heater Anodes on Pathogens and Microbiomes in Hot Water Plumbing Systems.Environmental science & technology · 2023Article
- Premise plumbing bacterial communities in four European cities and their association withFrontiers in microbiomes · 2023Article
- Detection of Diverse Sequence Types of Legionella pneumophila by Legiolert Enzymatic-Based Assay and the Development of a Long-Term Storage Protocol.Microbiology spectrum · 2022Article
- Bacterial Antagonistic Species of the Pathogenic GenusMicroorganisms · 2022Article
- Differences in UV-C LED Inactivation ofMicroorganisms · 2022Article
- Water Age Effects on the Occurrence and Concentration ofMicroorganisms · 2021Article
- Confirming the Presence of Legionella pneumophila in Your Water System: A Review of Current Legionella Testing Methods.Journal of AOAC International · 2021Review
- Review
- Rapid Testing and Interventions to ControlMicroorganisms · 2021Article
- Article
- A Snapshot of the Prevalence and Molecular Diversity ofPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Article
- Legionnaires' Disease Cases at a Large Community Hospital-Common and Underdiagnosed.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- The cooling tower water microbiota: Seasonal dynamics and co-occurrence of bacterial and protist phylotypes.Water research · 2019Review
- Article
- Air-conditioner cooling towers as complex reservoirs and continuous source ofEuro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Cooling towers (CTs) are a leading source of outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease (LD), a severe form of pneumonia caused by inhalation of aerosols containing Legionella bacteria. Accordingly, proper maintenance of CTs is vital for the prevention of LD. The aim of this study was to determine the distribution of Legionella in a subset of regionally diverse US CTs and characterize the associated microbial communities. Between July and September of 2016, we obtained aliquots from water samples collected for routine Legionella testing from 196 CTs located in eight of the nine continental US climate regions. After screening for Legionella by PCR, positive samples were cultured and the resulting Legionella isolates were further characterized. Overall, 84% (164) were PCR-positive, including samples from every region studied. Of the PCR-positive samples, Legionella spp were isolated from 47% (78), L. pneumophila was isolated from 32% (53), and L. pneumophila serogroup 1 (Lp1) was isolated from 24% (40). Overall, 144 unique Legionella isolates were identified; 53% (76) of these were Legionella pneumophila. Of the 76 L. pneumophila isolates, 51% (39) were Lp1. Legionella were isolated from CTs in seven of the eight US regions examined. 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing was used to compare the bacterial communities of CT waters with and without detectable Legionella as well as the microbiomes of waters from different climate regions. Interestingly, the microbial communities were homogenous across climate regions. When a subset of seven CTs sampled in April and July were compared, there was no association with changes in corresponding CT microbiomes over time in the samples that became culture-positive for Legionella. Legionella species and Lp1 were detected frequently among the samples examined in this first large-scale study of Legionella in US CTs. Our findings highlight that, under the right conditions, there is the potential for CT-related LD outbreaks to occur throughout the US.
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