Evaluation of the occurrence of pathogenic free‐living amoeba and bacteria in 20 public indoor swimming pool facilities

MicrobiologyOpen

Eduardo deOliveira Fernandes¹  Zenaida Mourão²  Fátima Felgueiras²  Marta F. Gabriel²  Ines Sifaoui³  José E. Piñero³  Rubén Rodríguez‐Expósito³  María Reyes‐Batlle³  Jacob Lorenzo‐Morales³ 

[1] Faculty of Engineering University of Porto Porto Portugal;INEGIInstitute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Porto Portugal;Instituto Universitario de Enfermedades Tropicales y Salud Pública de CanariasUniversidad de La Laguna Tenerife Spain;

关键词: free‐living amoeba;    indoor swimming pools;    Portugal;    public health;    water quality;   

DOI  :  10.1002/mbo3.1159

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Abstract Recently, indoor swimming pool activities have increased to promote health‐enhancing physical activities, which require establishing suitable protocols for disinfection and water quality control. Normally, the assessment of the microbial quality of the water in the pools only considers the presence of different bacteria. However, other less frequent but more resistant pathogens, such as free‐living amoebas (FLA), are not contemplated in both existing recommendation and research activities. FLA represent a relevant human health risk, not only due to their pathogenicity but also due to the ability to act as vehicles of other pathogens, such as bacteria. Therefore, this work aimed to study the physicochemical characteristics and the occurrence of potentially pathogenic FLA and bacteria in water samples from 20 public indoor swimming facilities in Northern Portugal. Our results showed that some swimming pools presented levels of pH, free chlorine, and conductivity out of the recommended limits. Pathogenic FLA species were detected in two of the facilities under study, where we also report the presence of both, FLA and pathogenic bacteria. Our findings evidence the need to assess the occurrence of FLA and their existence in the same environmental niche as pathogenic bacteria in swimming pool facilities worldwide and to establish recommendations to safeguard the health of the users.

【 授权许可】

Unknown