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Virulence Genes and Biofilm Formation Among Legionella pneumophila Isolates Collected from Hospital Water Sources

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Abstract

Legionella pneumophila can be transmitted to people, especially immunocompromised patients, via hospital water pipe systems and cause severe pneumonia. The aim of our study was to investigate the presence of major virulence factor genes, ability of biofilms formation, and correlation between presence of Legionella isolates and temperature, pH, and residual chlorine of water. Hundred water samples were collected from nine hospitals in Tehran, Iran. Temperature, pH, and residual chlorine were determined during sampling. Different virulence genes and the ability to form biofilms were subsequently analyzed among the L. pneumophila isolates. Results showed that 12 (12%) samples were positive in culture method and all of the isolates were positive as L. pneumophila species (mip). A correlation was found between Legionella culture positivity and temperature and pH of water, but there was no significant correlation between residual chlorine of water samples and the presence of Legionella. The isolation of Legionella rate in summer and spring was higher than winter and autumn. Twelve (100%) isolates were positive for mip genes, 9 (75%) for dot genes, 8 (66.66%) for hsp, 6 (50%) for lvh, and 4 (33.33%) for rtx. All of the isolates displayed strong ability for biofilm production every three days. Two of these isolates (16.6%) displayed weak ability to form biofilm on the first day of incubation. This study revealed that water sources in hospitals were colonized by virulent Legionella and should be continuously monitored to avoid elevated concentrations of Legionella with visible biofilm formation.

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Data are available upon request from the corresponding author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Sara Hayatimehr, Shiva Mirkalantari, Nour Amirmozafari & Faramarz Masjedian Jazi

  2. Department of Microbiology, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran

    Majid Taati Moghadam

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  1. Sara Hayatimehr
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Contributions

M conceptualized the study. SH, NA provided resources. SH, FM performed the experiments. NA and FM performed statistical analysis. SM, NM, MTM, and SH wrote the original draft. SM, SH, NA, FM revised and edited the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Shiva Mirkalantari.

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Hayatimehr, S., Mirkalantari, S., Amirmozafari, N. et al. Virulence Genes and Biofilm Formation Among Legionella pneumophila Isolates Collected from Hospital Water Sources. Curr Microbiol 81, 141 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-023-03609-1

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