Vesper S J, Haugland R A, Rogers M E, Neely A N
National Exposure Research Laboratory, US Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH 45216, USA.
J Water Health. 2007 Sep;5(3):427-31. doi: 10.2166/wh.2007.038.
Opportunistic fungal pathogens are a concern because of the increasing number of immunocompromised patients. The goal of this research was to test a simple extraction method and rapid quantitative PCR (QPCR) measurement of the occurrence of potential pathogens, Aspergillus fumigatus, A. flavus, A. terreus and A. niger, in home tap water and a hospital water supply. Water samples were taken from the kitchen tap in the homes of 60 patients who were diagnosed with legionellosis. Water samples were also taken from three locations in a hospital that generated all of its hot water by flash heating. Opportunistic infectious agents Aspergillus fumigatus, A. flavus, A. terreus and A. niger were measured using QPCR. Aspergillus terreus DNA was found in 16.7% and A. fumigatus DNA in 1.7% of the samples taken from the kitchen tap. None of the Aspergillus species were found in any of the hospital water samples.The development of a simple DNA extraction method along with QPCR analysis is suitable for rapid screening of tap water for opportunistic fungal pathogens. This simple method can be used to obtain pathogen occurrence results in about 3 h, instead of waiting days to weeks for culture data. Obtaining pathogen occurrence data in a timely manner could promote the elimination of the pathogens from the water supply of immunocompromised patients.
由于免疫功能低下患者数量不断增加，机会性真菌病原体成为一个令人担忧的问题。本研究的目的是测试一种简单的提取方法，并通过快速定量聚合酶链反应（QPCR）测量家庭自来水和医院供水系统中潜在病原体烟曲霉、黄曲霉、土曲霉和黑曲霉的存在情况。从60名被诊断患有军团病的患者家中的厨房水龙头采集水样。还从一家通过闪蒸加热产生所有热水的医院的三个地点采集水样。使用QPCR测量机会性感染病原体烟曲霉、黄曲霉、土曲霉和黑曲霉。在从厨房水龙头采集的样本中，16.7%的样本中发现了土曲霉DNA，1.7%的样本中发现了烟曲霉DNA。在任何医院水样中均未发现任何曲霉菌种。一种简单的DNA提取方法与QPCR分析的结合适用于快速筛查自来水中的机会性真菌病原体。这种简单的方法可用于在约3小时内获得病原体存在结果，而无需等待数天至数周的培养数据。及时获得病原体存在数据可促进从免疫功能低下患者的供水系统中消除病原体。
