Correlation of Air Legionella Pneumophila Contamination and Employees' Infection Rate Working in Public Building

Objective  To explore the relationship between air Legionella pneumophila contamination and the infection rate of employees working in public building.

Methods  Indoor air samples were collected from seven public buildings in Changzhou and Wuxi city of Jiangsu province in 2013-2014. Legionella pneumophila was detected by RT-PCR. Urine and serum samples were collected from 280 employees working in these public buildings. Legionella pneumophila antigen in urine and antibody in serum were detected by ELISA.

Results  The positive rate of Legionella pneumophila in the indoor air of public buildings was 30.0% (21/70). The infection rate of Legionella pneumophila in employees was 40.7% (114/280). There were significant difference on the positive rate of air Legionella pneumophila between cities (χ²=10.000,P=0.002) and among public buildings (χ²=13.213,P=0.031). There were significant difference on the Legionella pneumophila infection rate of employee between cities (χ²=85.371,P=0.000) and among public buildings (χ²=91.471,P=0.000). There was a significant correlation of air Legionella pneumophila contamination and the infection rate in employees.

Conclusion  There was a correlation between air Legionella pneumophila contamination and employee infection rate in these public buildings.