期刊名称：Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine
印刷版ISSN：1232-1966
电子版ISSN：1898-2263
出版年度：2017
卷号：24
期号：2
页码：276-282
DOI：10.26444/aaem/74717
出版社：Institute of Agricultural Medicine in Lublin
摘要：Introduction. The increasing development of marine traffic has led to a rise in the incidence of legionellosis among travellers.It occurs in similar environments, especially closed and crowded, and aboard ships Legionella survives and multiplies easilyin water pipes, spreading into the environment through air conditioning systems and water distribution points. Although inrecent years in the construction of cruise ships preventive measures aimed at curbing the proliferation of Legionella (design,materials, focus on the operation and maintenance of the water system), have been taken account, little or no attentionhas been paid to small ships which, in many cases, are old and not well maintained.Objective. The aim of the study was to evaluate the frequency and severity of Legionella contamination in ferries and cruiseships in order to adopt more specific control measures.Materials and method. A prevalence study was carried out on 10 ferries and 6 cruise ships docking or in transit acrossthe port of Messina (Sicily, Italy). Water and air samples collected from many critical points were tested for qualitative andquantitative identification of Legionella.Results and conclusions. Legionella pneumophila sg 1 was isolated from the samples of shower and tap water in 7 (70%) ofthe 10 ferries examined, and in 3 (33%) of the 6 cruise ships examined, and L. pneumophila sg 2–14 in 8 (80%) and 1 (16.7%)of these ships, respectively. No Legionella contamination was found in whirlpool baths, air and ice samples. In conclusion,the data obtained confirm higher levels of Legionella contamination in local ferries and cruise ships, underlining the needto adopt corrective actions more specific for these smaller vessels.
