Detection of non-culturable Legionella species by amoebal co-culture from bath water samples.

Research Project

Project/Area Number	22790590
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Research Field	Public health/Health science
Research Institution	Osaka Prefectural Institute of Public Health
Principal Investigator	EDAGAWA Akiko 大阪府立公衆衛生研究所, 衛生化学部, 研究員 (80321941)
Research Collaborator	KIMURA Akio 大阪府立公衆衛生研究所, 企画総務部, 課長 (00250283)
Project Period (FY)	2010 – 2011
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2011)
Budget Amount *help	¥3,900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥900,000) Fiscal Year 2011: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000) Fiscal Year 2010: ¥2,340,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥540,000)
Keywords	レジオネラ / アカントアメーバ / アメーバ共培養法 / co-culture / 浴槽水 / 培養不能菌 / VNC(viable but non-culturable) / Legionella / Acanthamoeba / VNC
Research Abstract	In this study, we investigated the prevalence of non-culturable Legionella species in bath water samples using amoebal co-culture. Legionella species were detected by amoebal co-culture method from 71 water samples. A total of 63(88.7%) bath water samples were positive by amoebal co-culture with culture, PCR, and qualitative PCR methods, whereas 12(16.9%) water samples were positive by conventional culture method. Our results suggested that bath water samples were highly contaminated by Legionella bacteria including VBNC form.