title: Legionella pneumophila contamination in a steam towel warmer in a hospital setting.
abstract: For prevention of nosocomial legionellosis, environmental investigation to identify possible infectious sources is essential. An environmental study in a ward of our hospital revealed that a steam towel warmer was contaminated with legionella whereas no legionella was detected in tap water supplies and shower heads. Water in the apparatus may be a reservoir of legionella. We abandoned the use of all steam towel warmers in our hospital. Based on this finding, we recommend that steam towel warmers in hospital settings be avoided. Otherwise, the apparatus should be drained, cleaned and dried every day.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious, Respiratory, and Digestive Medicine, Control and Prevention of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan. fhiga@med.u-ryukyu.ac.jp
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Higa
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Koide
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Haroon
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Haranaga
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamashiro
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tateyama
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fujita
mesh_terms: D003428:Cross Infection / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology; D004865:Equipment and Supplies, Hospital; D006801:Humans; D016952:Legionella pneumophila / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007877:Legionnaires' Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013227:Steam; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014881:Water Supply
chemical_list: D013227:Steam