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Evaluation of a New Monochloramine Generation System for Controlling Legionella in Building Hot Water Systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 May 2016

Scott Duda ,
Sheena Kandiah ,
Janet E. Stout ,
Julianne L. Baron ,
Mohamed Yassin ,
Marie Fabrizio ,
Juliet Ferrelli ,
Rahman Hariri ,
Marilyn M. Wagener  and
John Goepfert
...Show all authors
Scott Duda
Affiliation:
Special Pathogens Laboratory, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Sheena Kandiah
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Mercy Hospital, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Janet E. Stout*
Affiliation:
Special Pathogens Laboratory, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Swanson School of Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Julianne L. Baron
Affiliation:
Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Department, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Mohamed Yassin
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Mercy Hospital, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Marie Fabrizio
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Mercy Hospital, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Juliet Ferrelli
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Mercy Hospital, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Rahman Hariri
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Mercy Hospital, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Marilyn M. Wagener
Affiliation:
Epidemiology Department, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
John Goepfert
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Mercy Hospital, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
James Bond
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Mercy Hospital, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Joseph Hannigan
Affiliation:
Klenzoid, Conshohocken, Pennsylvania
Denzil Rogers
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Mercy Hospital, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
*
Special Pathogens Laboratory, 1401 Forbes Avenue, Suite 209, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 (jstout@specialpathogenslab.com).
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Abstract

Objective.

To evaluate the efficacy of a new monochloramine generation system for control of Legionella in a hospital hot water distribution system

Setting.

A 495-bed tertiary care hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The hospital has 12 floors covering approximately 78,000 m2.

Methods.

The hospital hot water system was monitored for a total of 29 months, including a 5-month baseline sampling period prior to installation of the monochloramine system and 24 months of surveillance after system installation (postdisinfection period). Water samples were collected for microbiological analysis (Legionella species, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Acinetobacter species, nitrifying bacteria, heterotrophic plate count [HPC] bacteria, and nontuberculous mycobacteria). Chemical parameters monitored during the investigation included monochloramine, chlorine (free and total), nitrate, nitrite, total ammonia, copper, silver, lead, and pH.

Results.

A significant reduction in Legionella distal site positivity was observed between the pre- and postdisinfection periods, with positivity decreasing from an average of 53% (baseline) to an average of 9% after monochloramine application (P > .05). Although geometric mean HPC concentrations decreased by approximately 2 log colony-forming units per milliliter during monochloramine treatment, we did not observe significant changes in other microbial populations.

Conclusions.

This is the first evaluation in the United States of a commercially available monochloramine system installed on a hospital hot water system for Legionella disinfection, and it demonstrated a significant reduction in Legionella colonization. Significant increases in microbial populations or other negative effects previously associated with monochloramine use in large municipal cold water systems were not observed.

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2014;35(11):1356–1363

Type
Original Article
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 35 , Issue 11 , November 2014 , pp. 1356 - 1363
Copyright
© 2014 by The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. All rights reserved.

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