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http://dx.doi.org/10.7845/kjm.2013.3086

Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment on Legionella Infection in Children Playing in Interactive Fountains  

Lee, In-Sup (Department of Biology, Kyungsung University)
Zo, Young-Gun (Department of Biology, Kyungsung University)
Publication Information
Korean Journal of Microbiology / v.49, no.4, 2013 , pp. 360-368 More about this Journal
Abstract
Recently interactive water fountains are gaining popularity in making public facilities in South Korea. The total number of interactive fountains is rapidly growing at the rate of >50% annually. In this study, we performed quantitative microbial risk assessment to estimate infection risks in children by Legionella spp. while playing in interactive fountains. The exposure dose for a given concentration of Legionella in water was calculated using water-aerosol partition rate of Legionella, exposure duration, inhalation rate, and deposit rate of aerosols in the lungs following inhalation. The dose was converted to infection risk by using the dose-response function developed for L. pneumophila. High weight and/or old children, i.e., 12-year children, running around in fountains were the highest risk group by showing >0.05 infection probability for fountain waters containing ${\geq}10^4$ CFU/L Legionella. The result supported the current guideline by Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which permits use of water with < $10^3$ CFU/L Legionella cells for all purposes. However, the results still warrant further evaluation of the guideline to accommodate risks for children because the dose-response relationship in the model was developed for healthy adults. Further risk assessment studies need to be conducted by employing dose-response model for children who generally carries weaker immune system than adults.
Keywords
Legionella; aerosol; children; interactive fountains; quantitative microbial risk assessment;
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