ArticleEnvironmental research2020
Impact of lockdown on the microbiological status of the hospital water network during COVID-19 pandemic.
Article in Environmental research, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 37 citations in OpenAlex.
- One Health in hospital settings: the role of water as an invisible reservoir of opportunistic pathogens.Brazilian journal of microbiology : [publication of the Brazilian Society for Microbiology] · 2026Observational
- Comparison of respiratory pathogen infections in hospitalized patients before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Shanghai, China.Microbiology spectrum · 2025Article
- Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Legionella testing and infection rates in Ontario.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Article
- The Global Burden and Trends of Legionella spp. Infection-Associated Diseases from 1990 to 2021: An Observational Study.Journal of epidemiology and global health · 2025Observational
- Occurrence of UnculturedPathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- The impact of stagnation on the microbial quality of constructed water systems after COVID-19 shutdowns.Biologia futura · 2024Article
- Extended water stagnation in buildings during the COVID-19 pandemic increases the risks posed by opportunistic pathogens.Water research X · 2023Article
- Surveillance of Multidrug-Resistant Pathogens in Neonatal Intensive Care Units of Palermo, Italy, during SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Impact of prolonged hotel closures during the COVID-19 pandemic onFrontiers in microbiology · 2023Article
- The Collateral Effect of COVID-19 on the Epidemiology of Airborne/Droplet-Transmitted Notifiable Infectious Diseases in Taiwan.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- VariableMicroorganisms · 2022Article
- Changing Epidemiology of Respiratory Tract Infection during COVID-19 Pandemic.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Increasing legionella in Taiwan during COVID-19 pandemic.American journal of infection control · 2022Article
- Potential Use of Untreated Wastewater for Assessing COVID-19 Trends in Southern Italy.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Review
- Management of Microbiological Contamination of the Water Network of a Newly Built Hospital Pavilion.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Editorial of the VSI "Environmental, ecological and public health considerations regarding coronaviruses, other viruses, and other microorganisms potentially causing pandemic diseases".Environmental research · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
19 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic started in China in early December 2019, and quickly spread around the world. The epidemic gradually started in Italy at the end of February 2020, and by May 31, 2020, 232,664 cases and 33,340 deaths were confirmed. As a result of this pandemic, the Italian Ministerial Decree issued on March 11, 2020, enforced lockdown; therefore, many social, recreational, and cultural centers remained closed for months. In Apulia (southern Italy), all non-urgent hospital activities were suspended, and some wards were closed, with a consequent reduction in the use of the water network and the formation of stagnant water. This situation could enhance the risk of exposure of people to waterborne diseases, including legionellosis. The purpose of this study was to monitor the microbiological quality of the water network (coliforms, E. coli, Enterococci, P. aeruginosa, and Legionella) in three wards (A, B and C) of a large COVID-19 regional hospital, closed for three months due to the COVID-19 emergency. Our study revealed that all three wards' water network showed higher contamination by Legionella pneumophila sg 1 and sg 6 at T1 (after lockdown) compared to the period before the lockdown (T0). In particular, ward A at T1 showed a median value = 5600 CFU/L (range 0-91,000 CFU/L) vs T0, median value = 75 CFU/L (range 0-5000 CFU/L) (p-value = 0.014); ward B at T1 showed a median value = 200 CFU/L (range 0-4200 CFU/L) vs T0, median value = 0 CFU/L (range 0-300 CFU/L) (p-value = 0.016) and ward C at T1 showed a median value = 175 CFU/L (range 0-22,000 CFU/L) vs T0, median value = 0 CFU/L (range 0-340 CFU/L) (p-value < 0.001). In addition, a statistically significant difference was detected in ward B between the number of positive water samples at T0 vs T1 for L. pneumophila sg 1 and sg 6 (24% vs 80% p-value < 0.001) and for coliforms (0% vs 64% p-value < 0.001). Moreover, a median value of coliform load resulted 3 CFU/100 ml (range 0-14 CFU/100 ml) at T1, showing a statistically significant increase versus T0 (0 CFU/100 ml) (p-value < 0.001). Our results highlight the need to implement a water safety plan that includes staff training and a more rigorous environmental microbiological surveillance in all hospitals before occupying a closed ward for a longer than one week, according to national and international guidelines.
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