Biofilms

More and more news is appearing indicating increasing interest in biofilms and their role in disease and other biological phenomena. The following article is an example of news on biofilm. Chlorine dioxide, with its unusual anti-biofilm properties, should inevitably play an increasing role in fighting and using biofilms. How Fatal Biofilms Form Date: October 5,…

CMS Requires Policies and Procedures for Legionella Control

On June 2, 2017, the Survey and Certification Group at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a memorandum, “Requirement to Reduce Legionella Risk in Healthcare Facility Water Systems to Prevent Cases and Outbreaks of Legionnaires’ Disease (LD)” (“S&C Memo”), requiring that facilities develop and follow policies and procedures that inhibit microbial growth in building water systems to reduce the risk of growth and spread of Legionella and other pathogens in water.

Copper ions and Chloramines Promote Pathogen Growth Under Certain Circumstances

Complexities associated with drinking water plumbing systems can result in undesirable interactions among plumbing components, undermining engineering controls for opportunistic pathogens (OPs). A study examines the effects of plumbing system materials and two commonly applied disinfectants, copper and chloramines, on water chemistry and the growth of Legionella and mycobacteria across a transect of bench- and pilot-scale hot water experiments carried out with the same municipal water supply.