Prevalence of Legionella pneumophila in a Variety of Environmental Water Systems

The purpose of the current study is to isolate and identify Legionella pneumophila by bacteriological and molecular methods from water and swab samples collected from a variety of water systems in Fallujah City, Iraq. A total of 227 samples were collected, including 146 swab samples and 81 of 1 L water samples. Bacteriological and molecular assays were performed compromised cultural, gram stain, a set of biochemical tests, and serological tests. The phenotypically validated isolates underwent a 16s rRNA gene by conventional PCR assays. The results showed 28 (12.33%) were positive with the presence of legionella pneumophila isolates. including 5 (17.86%) positive isolates from water samples and 23 (82.14%) positive isolates from swabs. The current study showed that the majority of the water and swab samples were detected to be negative, but there is an appropriate exposure to this pathogen in the community. The diversity of the presence of these bacteria in several water systems, as well as the diversity in the use of multiple sources of water and exposure to them, leads to an increase in the potential risks of infection by L. pneumophila.