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

Free ‐living amoebas (FLA) and pathogenic bacteria represent a risk in swimming pools. 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 findings highlight the need to establish recommendations to safeguard the health of the swimming pool users. AbstractRecently, 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 p athogens, 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 conducti vity out of the recommended limits. Pathogenic FLA species were detected in two of the facilities under study...
Source: MicrobiologyOpen - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research