KWR in het nieuws D.van der Kooij Investigators identify optimal conditions for growth of legionells bacteria

“The bacteria that cause Legionnaire’s disease grow well in warm tap water installations with ample dissolved organic matter—conditions that support the growth of biofilms. The RESEARCH is published January 6thin Applied and Environmental Microbiology, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology. The team of Dutch scientists conducting the research was motivated by large outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease to find out what conditions favored growth of the responsible bacterium, Legionella pneumophila, on surfaces exposed to drinking water, said first author Dick van der Kooij, PhD, recently retired as Principal Microbiologist at KWR Watercycle Research Institute, Nieuwegein, the Netherlands, where this research was conducted. (image: Legionella pneumophila. credit: CDC) In the study, the investigators developed a model system that enabled measurement of biofilm formation and growth of Legionella exposed to drinking water without disinfectant, under controlled hydraulic conditions. They used this system to compare a water supply system with a very low concentration of dissolved organic matter with a water supply with a high concentration.”

(Citaat: Urban, J. – KWR in het nieuws D.van der Kooij – Investigators identify optimal conditions for growth of legionells bacteria – ASM Press Release Legionella Washington (2017)6 January – Website 10 January 2017)