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KMID : 0364820130490040360
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Korean Journal of Microbiology
2013 Volume.49 No. 4 p.360 ~ p.368
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Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment on Legionella Infection in Children Playing in Interactive Fountains
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Lee In-Sup
Zo Young-Gun
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Abstract
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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 ≥104CFU/LLegionella. The result
supported the current guideline by Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which permits use of water
with <103CFU/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.
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KEYWORD
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Legionella, aerosol, children, interactive fountains, quantitative microbial risk assessment
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