In addition to using supplemental treatment methods as remediation measures after inadvertent contamination of water systems, health-care facilities sometimes use special measures to control waterborne microbial contamination on a sustained basis. This decision is most often associated with outbreaks of legionellosis and subsequent efforts to control legionellae, although some facilities have tried supplemental measures to better control thermophilic NTM.
The primary disinfectant for both cold and hot water systems is chlorine. However, chlorine residuals are expected to be low, and possibly nonexistent, in hot water tanks because of extended retention time in the tank and elevated water temperature. Flushing, especially that which removes sludge from the bottom of the tank, probably provides the most effective treatment of water systems. Unlike the situation for disinfecting cooling towers, no equivalent recommendations have been made for potable water systems, although specific intervention strategies have been published. The principal approaches to disinfection of potable systems are heat flushing using temperatures 160°F–170°F (71°– 77°C), hyperchlorination, and physical cleaning of hot-water tanks. Potable systems are easily recolonized and may require continuous intervention (e.g., raising of hot water temperatures or continuous chlorination). Chlorine solutions lose potency over time, thereby rendering the stocking of large quantities of chlorine impractical.
Some hospitals with hot water systems identified as the source of Legionella spp. have performed emergency decontamination of their systems by pulse (i.e., one-time) thermal disinfection/superheating or hyperchlorination.
After either of these procedures, hospitals either maintain their heated water with a minimum return temperature of 124°F (51°C) and cold water at <68°F (<20°C) or chlorinate their hot water to achieve 1–2 mg/L (1–2 ppm) of free residual chlorine at the tap.
Additional measures (e.g., physical cleaning or replacement of hot-water storage tanks, water heaters, faucets, and shower heads) may be required to help eliminate accumulations of scale and sediment that protect organisms from the biocidal effects of heat and chlorine.
Alternative methods for controlling and eradicating legionellae in water systems (e.g., treating water with chlorine dioxide, heavy metal ions [i.e., copper/silver ions], ozone, and UV light) have limited the growth of legionellae under laboratory and operating conditions.
Further studies on the long-term efficacy of these treatments are needed before these methods can be considered standard applications.
Renewed interest in the use of chloramines stems from concerns about adverse health effects associated with disinfectants and disinfection by-products.
Monochloramine usage minimizes the formation of disinfection by-products, including trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids. Monochloramine can also reach distal points in a water system and can penetrate into bacterial biofilms more effectively than free chlorine. However, monochloramine use is limited to municipal water treatment plants and is currently not available to health-care facilities as a supplemental water-treatment approach. A recent study indicated that 90% of Legionnaires disease outbreaks associated with drinking water could have been prevented if monochloramine rather than free chlorine has been used for residual disinfection.
In a retrospective comparison of health-care associated Legionnaires disease incidence in central Texas hospitals, the same research group documented an absence of cases in facilities located in communities with monochloramine-treated municipal water. Additional data are needed regarding the effectiveness of using monochloramine before its routine use as a disinfectant in water systems can be recommended. No data have been published regarding the effectiveness of monochloramine installed at the level of the health-care facility.
Additional filtration of potable water systems is not routinely necessary. Filters are used in water lines in dialysis units, however, and may be inserted into the lines for specific equipment (e.g., endoscope washers and disinfectors) for the purpose of providing bacteria-free water for instrument reprocessing. Additionally, an RO unit is usually added to the distribution system leading to PE areas.
Thuesday, May 10, 2022
Refrences
Please Check out file at the following link
Waterborne Infectious Diseases in Health-Care Facilities–Other Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections
Waterborne Infectious Diseases in Health-Care Facilities – Legionellosis
Modes of Transmission of Waterborne Diseases
Principles of Cleaning and Disinfecting Environmental Surfaces
Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Systems in Health-Care Facilities
