Falkinham Joseph O
Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech., 1405 Perry Street, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2015 Apr 24;12(5):4533-45. doi: 10.3390/ijerph120504533.
Recently it has been estimated that the annual cost of diseases caused by the waterborne pathogens Legionella pneumonia, Mycobacterium avium, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa is $500 million. For the period 2001-2012, the estimated cost of hospital admissions for nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease, the majority caused by M. avium, was almost $1 billion. These three waterborne opportunistic pathogens are normal inhabitants of drinking water--not contaminants--that share a number of key characteristics that predispose them to survival, persistence, and growth in drinking water distribution systems and premise plumbing. Herein, I list and describe these shared characteristics that include: disinfectant-resistance, biofilm-formation, growth in amoebae, growth at low organic carbon concentrations (oligotrophic), and growth under conditions of stagnation. This review is intended to increase awareness of OPPPs, identify emerging OPPPs, and challenge the drinking water industry to develop novel approaches toward their control.
最近据估计，由水源性病原体嗜肺军团菌、鸟分枝杆菌和铜绿假单胞菌引起的疾病的年度成本为5亿美元。在2001年至2012年期间，非结核分枝杆菌肺病住院治疗的估计成本近10亿美元，其中大部分由鸟分枝杆菌引起。这三种水源性机会致病菌是饮用水中的正常居民——而非污染物——它们具有一些关键特性，使其易于在饮用水分配系统和建筑物内部管道中生存、持续存在和生长。在此，我列出并描述这些共同特性，包括：抗消毒剂、形成生物膜、在变形虫中生长、在低有机碳浓度（贫营养）下生长以及在停滞条件下生长。本综述旨在提高对水源性机会致病菌的认识，识别新出现的水源性机会致病菌，并促使饮用水行业开发新的控制方法。
