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Required water temperature in hotel plumbing to control Legionella growth
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Required water temperature in hotel plumbing to control Legionella growth

Md Rasheduzzaman, Rajveer Singh, Charles N. Haas and Patrick L. Gurian
Water research (Oxford), v 182, pp 115943-115943
01 Sep 2020
PMID: 32590203

Abstract

Engineering Engineering, Environmental Environmental Sciences Environmental Sciences & Ecology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Physical Sciences Science & Technology Technology Water Resources
Legionella spp. occurring in hotel hot water systems, in particular Legionella pneumophila, are causing serious pneumonic infections, and water temperature is a key factor to control their occurrence in plumbing systems. We performed a systematic review and meta-analyses of the available evidence on the association between water temperature and Legionella colonization to identify the water temperature in hotel hot water systems required for control of Legionella. Qualitative synthesis and quantitative analysis were performed on 13 studies that met our inclusion criteria to identify the effect of temperature. The Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve identified 55 degrees C as a cutoff point for hotel hot water temperature with an Area Under the Curve (AUC) value of 0.914. The odds ratios (OR) for detecting Legionella at temperatures >55 degrees C compared to lower temperatures from a meta-analysis of three studies was 0.17 [95% CI: 0.11, 0.25], which indicates a strong negative association between temperature and Legionella colonization. A logistic regression on results from multiple studies using both molecular and culture methods found a temperature of 59 degrees C associated with an 8% probability of detectable Legionella. Only two studies reported sufficiently detailed data to allow a model of concentration vs. temperature to be fit, and this model was not statistically significant. Additional research or more detailed reporting of existing datasets is required to assess if Legionella growth can be limited below particular concentration targets at different temperatures. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#6 Clean Water and Sanitation
#3 Good Health and Well-Being

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Web of Science research areas
Engineering, Environmental
Environmental Sciences
Water Resources
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