Detection and Quantification of Legionella pneumophila from Water Systems in Kuwait Residential Facilities.pdfVIP

Hindawi Publishing Corporation Journal of Pathogens Volume 2012, Article ID 138389, 5 pages doi:10.1155/2012/138389 Research Article Detection and Quantification of Legionella pneumophila from Water Systems in Kuwait Residential Facilities Qadreyah A. Al-Matawah,1 Sameer F. Al-Zenki,1 Jafer A. Qasem,2 Tahani E. Al-Waalan,1 and Ahmed H. Ben Heji1 1 Biotechnology Department, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Safat 13109, Kuwait 2 Department of Applied Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, The Public Authority for Applied Education and Training, Safat 13092, Kuwait Correspondence should be addressed to Qadreyah A. Al-Matawah, qmutawa@.kw Received 11 April 2012; Revised 27 May 2012; Accepted 30 May 2012 Academic Editor: Kendra Rumbaugh Copyright © 2012 Qadreyah A. Al-Matawah et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The prevalence of Legionella pneumophilia in water systems of residential facilities in Kuwait was performed during the period from November 2007 to November 2011. A total of 204 water samples collected from faucets and showerheads in bathrooms (n = 82), taps in kitchens (n = 51), and water tanks (n = 71), from different locations of residential facilities in Kuwait were screened for Legionella pneumophila by the standard culture method and by real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Out of the 204 samples, 89 (43.6%) samples were positive for Legionella spp., 48 (23.5%) samples were detected by the standard culture method, and 85 (41.7%) were detected by RT-PCR. Of the culture positive Legionella samples, counts ranged between 10 to 225