Several recent Legionella outbreaks have occurred around the globe. In New York, seven people died and 92 tested positive for Legionnaires disease (prompting improved testing procedures approved by the Governor). In Basel, Switzerland, one person died and twenty-eight contracted Legionnaire’s disease. Even in Linz, Austria, a recent outbreak has led to 20 infected.

What are the key differences between the New York and Switzerland outbreaks: the response time. In New York, operators had to rely solely on slower culture-based methods to identify the outbreak source. In Basel, while operators were able to use qPCR to quickly identify the likely outbreak source, while they also performed culture-based tests to confirm the qPCR results. This enabled operators to identify the contaminated cooling tower and shut it down preventively while awaiting formal regulatory confirmation. The faster source identification with qPCR was a key factor in response speed.

So, what can companies and governments do? They should test more frequently for Legionella pneumophila using faster methods like quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and viability qPCR for cleaning verification as part of their operational procedure. Regular testing makes infrastructure safer for everyone and proactively reduces risk for companies.

Continue reading “Timing Matters in Legionella Testing”

The FIFA World Cup has drawn fans from dozens of countries around the world to the United States, making it one of the largest international sporting gatherings in history. With thousands of people gathering together, it’s important for scientists and public health professionals to track contagious diseases. These pathogens spread easily, which is why early detection matters. 

Testing everyone who comes into an event is impractical, and if you wait too long, the disease may have already spread. How then do scientists preemptively use wastewater to check for disease spread without testing every individual?  

How do scientists test for wastewater? 

Wastewater surveillance, or wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE), is a rapidly growing field that has recently proved effective in tracking the spread of diseases in communities around the world. WBE refers to the process of analyzing the wastewater output from a population to detect the presence of certain compounds or pathogens. Though its use became widespread during the pandemic, it continues to show utility in monitoring other infectious diseases as well, including polio, influenza and monkeypox, among others.  

Samples collected from wastewater treatment plants provide a wealth of information, but the output from individual buildings can sometimes offer more specificity as to where exactly a pathogen is circulating. Occasionally, viruses that go undetected in samples from a treatment plant are still found on a micro level in sewage from facilities like hospitals or schools. 

Continue reading “Mitigating Disease by Testing Wastewater at Large Events”