Characterization of <i>Legionella pneumophila</i> Populations by Multilocus Variable Number of Tandem Repeats (MLVA) Genotyping from Drinking Water and Biofilm in Hospitals from Different Regions of the West Bank
The West Bank can be considered a high-risk area for Legionnaires’ disease (LD) due to its hot climate, intermittent water supply and roof storage of drinking water. <i>Legionella</i>, mostly <i>L. pneumophila</i>, are responsible for LD, a severe, community-acquired and noso...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2020-10-01
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| Series: | Pathogens |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/9/11/862 |
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| author | Ashraf R. Zayed Marina Pecellin Alaa Salah Hanna Alalam Suha Butmeh Michael Steinert Rene Lesnik Ingrid Brettar Manfred G. Höfle Dina M. Bitar |
| author_facet | Ashraf R. Zayed Marina Pecellin Alaa Salah Hanna Alalam Suha Butmeh Michael Steinert Rene Lesnik Ingrid Brettar Manfred G. Höfle Dina M. Bitar |
| author_sort | Ashraf R. Zayed |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The West Bank can be considered a high-risk area for Legionnaires’ disease (LD) due to its hot climate, intermittent water supply and roof storage of drinking water. <i>Legionella</i>, mostly <i>L. pneumophila</i>, are responsible for LD, a severe, community-acquired and nosocomial pneumonia. To date, no extensive assessment of <i>Legionella</i> spp and <i>L. pneumophila</i> using cultivation in combination with molecular approaches in the West Bank has been published. Two years of environmental surveillance of <i>Legionella</i> in water and biofilms in the drinking water distribution systems (DWDS) of eight hospitals was carried out; 180 <i>L. pneumophila</i> strains were isolated, mostly from biofilms in DWDS. Most of the isolates were identified as serogroup (Sg) 1 (60%) and 6 (30%), while a minor fraction comprised Sg 8 and 10. Multilocus Variable number of tandem repeats Analysis using 13 loci (MLVA-8(12)) was applied as a high-resolution genotyping method and compared to the standard Sequence Based Typing (SBT). The isolates were genotyped in 27 MLVA-8(12) genotypes (Gt), comprising four MLVA clonal complexes (VACC 1; 2; 5; 11). The major fraction of isolates constituted Sequence Type (ST)1 and ST461. Most of the MLVA-genotypes were highly diverse and often unique. The MLVA-genotype composition showed substantial regional variability. In general, the applied MLVA-method made it possible to reproducibly genotype the isolates, and was consistent with SBT but showed a higher resolution. The advantage of the higher resolution was most evident for the subdivision of the large strain sets of ST1 and ST461; these STs were shown to be highly pneumonia-relevant in a former study. This shows that the resolution by MLVA is advantageous for back-tracking risk sites and for the avoidance of outbreaks of <i>L. pneumophila.</i> Overall, our results provide important insights into the detailed population structure of <i>L. pneumophila</i>, allowing for better risk assessment for DWDS. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:25:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-09cf4b3a483c435f8d11b03fb52a5737 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0817 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:25:16Z |
| publishDate | 2020-10-01 |
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| record_format | Article |
| series | Pathogens |
| spelling | doaj.art-09cf4b3a483c435f8d11b03fb52a57372023-11-20T18:04:12ZengMDPI AGPathogens2076-08172020-10-0191186210.3390/pathogens9110862Characterization of <i>Legionella pneumophila</i> Populations by Multilocus Variable Number of Tandem Repeats (MLVA) Genotyping from Drinking Water and Biofilm in Hospitals from Different Regions of the West BankAshraf R. Zayed0Marina Pecellin1Alaa Salah2Hanna Alalam3Suha Butmeh4Michael Steinert5Rene Lesnik6Ingrid Brettar7Manfred G. Höfle8Dina M. Bitar9Department of Vaccinology and Applied Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Inhoffenstrasse 7, 38124 Braunschweig, GermanyDepartment of Vaccinology and Applied Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Inhoffenstrasse 7, 38124 Braunschweig, GermanyDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Al-Quds University, Abu-Dies, East Jerusalem 19356, PalestineDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Al-Quds University, Abu-Dies, East Jerusalem 19356, PalestineDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Al-Quds University, Abu-Dies, East Jerusalem 19356, PalestineDepartment of Life Sciences, Institute of Microbiology, Technical University of Braunschweig, Universitätsplatz 2, 38106 Braunschweig, GermanyDepartment of Vaccinology and Applied Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Inhoffenstrasse 7, 38124 Braunschweig, GermanyDepartment of Vaccinology and Applied Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Inhoffenstrasse 7, 38124 Braunschweig, GermanyDepartment of Vaccinology and Applied Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), Inhoffenstrasse 7, 38124 Braunschweig, GermanyDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, Al-Quds University, Abu-Dies, East Jerusalem 19356, PalestineThe West Bank can be considered a high-risk area for Legionnaires’ disease (LD) due to its hot climate, intermittent water supply and roof storage of drinking water. <i>Legionella</i>, mostly <i>L. pneumophila</i>, are responsible for LD, a severe, community-acquired and nosocomial pneumonia. To date, no extensive assessment of <i>Legionella</i> spp and <i>L. pneumophila</i> using cultivation in combination with molecular approaches in the West Bank has been published. Two years of environmental surveillance of <i>Legionella</i> in water and biofilms in the drinking water distribution systems (DWDS) of eight hospitals was carried out; 180 <i>L. pneumophila</i> strains were isolated, mostly from biofilms in DWDS. Most of the isolates were identified as serogroup (Sg) 1 (60%) and 6 (30%), while a minor fraction comprised Sg 8 and 10. Multilocus Variable number of tandem repeats Analysis using 13 loci (MLVA-8(12)) was applied as a high-resolution genotyping method and compared to the standard Sequence Based Typing (SBT). The isolates were genotyped in 27 MLVA-8(12) genotypes (Gt), comprising four MLVA clonal complexes (VACC 1; 2; 5; 11). The major fraction of isolates constituted Sequence Type (ST)1 and ST461. Most of the MLVA-genotypes were highly diverse and often unique. The MLVA-genotype composition showed substantial regional variability. In general, the applied MLVA-method made it possible to reproducibly genotype the isolates, and was consistent with SBT but showed a higher resolution. The advantage of the higher resolution was most evident for the subdivision of the large strain sets of ST1 and ST461; these STs were shown to be highly pneumonia-relevant in a former study. This shows that the resolution by MLVA is advantageous for back-tracking risk sites and for the avoidance of outbreaks of <i>L. pneumophila.</i> Overall, our results provide important insights into the detailed population structure of <i>L. pneumophila</i>, allowing for better risk assessment for DWDS.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/9/11/862MLVA-genotypesclonal complexhospital waterWest Bank<i>Legionella pneumophila</i> |
| spellingShingle | Ashraf R. Zayed Marina Pecellin Alaa Salah Hanna Alalam Suha Butmeh Michael Steinert Rene Lesnik Ingrid Brettar Manfred G. Höfle Dina M. Bitar Characterization of <i>Legionella pneumophila</i> Populations by Multilocus Variable Number of Tandem Repeats (MLVA) Genotyping from Drinking Water and Biofilm in Hospitals from Different Regions of the West Bank Pathogens MLVA-genotypes clonal complex hospital water West Bank <i>Legionella pneumophila</i> |
| title | Characterization of <i>Legionella pneumophila</i> Populations by Multilocus Variable Number of Tandem Repeats (MLVA) Genotyping from Drinking Water and Biofilm in Hospitals from Different Regions of the West Bank |
| title_full | Characterization of <i>Legionella pneumophila</i> Populations by Multilocus Variable Number of Tandem Repeats (MLVA) Genotyping from Drinking Water and Biofilm in Hospitals from Different Regions of the West Bank |
| title_fullStr | Characterization of <i>Legionella pneumophila</i> Populations by Multilocus Variable Number of Tandem Repeats (MLVA) Genotyping from Drinking Water and Biofilm in Hospitals from Different Regions of the West Bank |
| title_full_unstemmed | Characterization of <i>Legionella pneumophila</i> Populations by Multilocus Variable Number of Tandem Repeats (MLVA) Genotyping from Drinking Water and Biofilm in Hospitals from Different Regions of the West Bank |
| title_short | Characterization of <i>Legionella pneumophila</i> Populations by Multilocus Variable Number of Tandem Repeats (MLVA) Genotyping from Drinking Water and Biofilm in Hospitals from Different Regions of the West Bank |
| title_sort | characterization of i legionella pneumophila i populations by multilocus variable number of tandem repeats mlva genotyping from drinking water and biofilm in hospitals from different regions of the west bank |
| topic | MLVA-genotypes clonal complex hospital water West Bank <i>Legionella pneumophila</i> |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/9/11/862 |
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