Treatment of a Legionella pneumophila-Colonized Water Distribution System Using Copper-Silver Ionization and Continuous Chlorination | Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology | Cambridge Core (original) (raw)

Abstract

The detection in April 1997 of a case of nosocomial legionellosis in our hospital led to the discovery that both our hot- and cold-water circuits were heavily colonized with Legionella pneumophila. Conventional methods for eradication of the organisms were unsuccessful, so a copper-silver (Cu-Ag) ionization system and a continuous chlorination system were installed. Five months later, the number of colonized sites decreased from an initial 58.3% to 16.7%.

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