Legionella Contamination in Different Environmental Media of Public Places and Legionella Infection Situation in Employees

Objective To investigate the contamination of legionella in public places and to detect the situation of legionella infection in employees.

Methods Samples were collected from different types of environmental media in shopping malls and hotels for legionella detection. Serum antibody and urine antigen for legionella were detected in employees.

Results The positive rate for legionella detected from central air conditioning system (air from the outlet, the dust in wind tube and the water in cooling tower), water system (water in landscapes, water from shower and tap water) and flower soil was not statistically different (P>0.05). The positive rate of serum antibody was 10.6%(17/160), and the positive rate of urine antigen was 3.8% (6/160) in employees.

Conclusions The contamination of legionella was found in a variety of environmental media in public places, and the infection of legionella in employees was existed. Prevention, administration and supervision of legionella contamination was necessary in different environmental media of public places.