Journal article
Foresight 2035: A perspective on the next decade of research on the management of Legionella spp. in engineered aquatic environments
FEMS microbiology reviews, v 49, fuaf022
27 May 2025
PMID: 40424003
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
The disease burden from Legionella spp. infections has been increasing in many industrialized countries and, despite decades of scientific advances, ranks amongst the highest for waterborne diseases. We review here several key research areas from a multi-disciplinary perspective and list critical research needs to address some of the challenges of Legionella spp. management in engineered environments. These include: (1) A consideration of Legionella species diversity and co-occurrence, beyond Legionella pneumophila only; (2) An assessment of their environmental prevalence and clinical relevance, and how that may affect legislation, management and intervention prioritization; (3) A consideration of Legionella spp. sources, their definition and prioritization; (4) The factors affecting Legionnaires' disease seasonality, how they link to sources, Legionella spp. proliferation and ecology, and how these may be affected by climate change; (5) The challenge of saving energy in buildings while controlling Legionella spp. with high water temperatures and chemical disinfection; (6) The ecological interactions of Legionella spp. with other microbes, and their potential as a biological control strategy. Ultimately, we call for increased inter-disciplinary collaboration between multiple research domains, as well as trans-disciplinary engagement and collaboration across government, industry and science as the way towards controlling and reducing Legionella-derived infections.
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Details
- Title
- Foresight 2035: A perspective on the next decade of research on the management of Legionella spp. in engineered aquatic environments
- Creators
- Frederik Hammes (Corresponding Author) - Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and TechnologyMarco Gabrielli - Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and TechnologyAlessio Cavallaro - Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and TechnologyAntonia Eichelberg - Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and TechnologySofia Barigelli - University of PerugiaMelina Bigler - Swiss Tropical and Public Health InstituteSebastien P Faucher - McGill UniversityHans P Füchslin - Zurich Cantonal Laboratory, SwitzerlandValeria Gaia - Ente Ospedaliero CantonaleLaura Gomez-Valero - Université Paris CitéMarianne Grimard-Conea - Polytechnique MontréalCharles N Haas - Drexel UniversityKerry A Hamilton - Arizona State UniversityHannah G Healy - Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health, USAYann Héchard - Écologie et Biologie des InteractionsTim Julian - Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and TechnologyLaurine Kieper - University Hospital Carl Gustav CarusUrsula Lauper - New York State Department of HealthXavier Lefebvre - Polytechnique MontréalDaniel Mäusezahl - University of BaselCatalina Ortiz - Polytechnique MontréalAna Pereira - Universidade do PortoMichele Prevost - Polytechnique MontréalHunter Quon - Arizona State UniversitySiddhartha Roy - Rutgers, The State University of New JerseyAna R Silva - Universidade do PortoÉmile Sylvestre - Delft University of TechnologyLizhan Tang - Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and TechnologyElliston Vallarino Reyes - McGill UniversityPaul W J J van der Wielen - KWR Water Research InstituteMichael Waak - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
- Publication Details
- FEMS microbiology reviews, v 49, fuaf022
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Number of pages
- 18
- Grant note
- Swiss Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO)Federal Offices of Public Health (FOPH) and Energy (SFOE) in Switzerland: 4.20.01 Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF): 225679 Eawag discretionary funding
The scientific exchange that facilitated this manuscript was supported by the Swiss Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO), in partnership with the Federal Offices of Public Health (FOPH) and Energy (SFOE) in Switzerland, through the project LeCo (Legionella Control in Buildings; Aramis number: 4.20.01), as well as the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF, Scientific Exchanges; grant number 225679), and Eawag discretionary funding.
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001504968700001
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-105008320511
- Other Identifier
- 991022054214104721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Microbiology