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Study finds hospital water is source of fungus infections

Hospital Safety Connection, May 16, 2003

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A new study conducted in Norway found that hospital showers and taps could be a significant source of life-threatening fungus infections for patients with weak immune systems, the Associated Press reports.

Aspergillus, a toxic mold, is a well-known danger for leukemia and transplant patients. Air filtration and the removal of potted plants help reduce the chance of catching an infection, but 15% of such patients still contract it and half of those patients die.

The latest findings, released May 12 at a conference of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, traced aspergillus infection in patients to hospital taps and showers.

In the study, Dutch scientists examined the genetic makeup of 100 aspergillus samples isolated from the air, water, and patients in a hospital in Oslo, Norway. About 55 of the samples came from water-from showers, taps, the hospital's main water pipe, the water treatment plant, and the lake where the hospital water originated. About 25 samples were taken from the air, and another 21 obtained from swabs or tissue samples taken from 13 leukemia or transplant patients in the hospital.

The researchers found that the aspergillus strains in nine of 13 patients were genetically similar to the water strains but not closely related to strains found in the air, indicating that water was the more likely source. Showers are the easiest way to inhale water droplets in the fine spray, so it may be a better idea for these patients to take baths, which do not pose the risk of reaerosolizing the germ.

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