RAPID MICROBIOLOGY
To test for the presence or absence of P. aeruginosa, the IDEXX reagent is added to the sample.
to work alongside – very supportive, and very approachable. If you have any issues they go the extra mile.” Dan Samworth added: “The after-sales support is very good. The product is like the people – professional and dependable. It’s a good partnership.”
Phil Mitchell said: “Pseudalert is very cost-effective, with a 45% saving over laboratory costs. It’s a reliable and fast process, giving us results in 24 hours. It makes us more efficient. It’s not a mundane task. The team find it very interesting. It’s a great tool for verifying that any remedial work we carry out is effective. This could be anything from flushing pipework, changing taps, or re- plumbing outlets, to disinfecting outlets and pipework. Pseudalert gives us peace of mind that patients are safe.”
Looking ahead
Looking to the future, Phil Mitchell added: “As it is written into our Water Safety Policy, we still have to send routine compliance samples to a UKAS- accredited laboratory, so I might speak to UKAS and look at the feasibility of ours becoming a UKAS-accredited facility. “We will probably also trial IDEXX’s Legiolert test.” (a-simple-to-use culture test for the detection of Legionella pneumophila). IDEXX launched Legiolert in 2017 after a multiple year research and development programme. It is a new liquid culture testing technology which
provides a significantly faster method for detecting and quantifying Legionella pneumophila in water samples, with results available within just seven days. Legionella pneumophila is the primary causative agent of Legionnaire’s disease, and, like Pseudomonas aeruginosa, poses a real threat to patients within a hospital. Between 2014 and 2016 in England and Wales there were 1,070 reported cases of Legionnaires’ disease, 99.7% of which were identified as being caused by Legionella pneumophila.2 Unlike Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Legionella pneumophila is transmitted by aerosol rather than touch contact. For hospital estates and facilities managers, both potable and non-potable systems are at risk, with potable sources including taps, showers, ice machines, humidifiers, and hydrotherapy pools, and non-potable sources including air-conditioning cooling towers – with which many major outbreaks have been associated. The risks of an outbreak are great if contamination goes undetected, as the bacteria are able to travel up to three miles in contaminated water droplets.
Andrew Headland
Andrew Headland is senior business manager for the IDEXX Water Division, EMEA, and has been with the company since 2000, when IDEXX acquired Genera Technologies. At IDEXX, he has been involved in the launches of both Pseudalert and Legiolert, for the rapid detection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Legionella pneumophila respectively, and oversees the company’s business interests in facilities water and domestic drinking water testing. IDEXX is a global leader in this area, with a product portfolio encompassing methods for the detection of waterborne pathogens such as Coliforms, E. coli, Enterococci, Cryptosporidium, and Giardia. Andrew Headland holds a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Biological Sciences, Microbiology, and an MBA.
Lessons from forward thinking The nature of many waterborne pathogens, and the complex water and utility systems that exist within healthcare facilities, mean complete eradication of contamination from the water supply before it enters a hospital and within the facilities is almost impossible. The lessons learned by Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and the statements and testimonials from its estates team, however, show that by forward thinking, implementing best practice in cleaning, and using effective testing protocols, contamination can be controlled, which increases the safety of the patients in a reliable and cost-effective manner.
References 1 Sartory DP, Pauly D, Garrec N et al. Evaluation of an MPN test for the rapid enumeration of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in hospital waters. J Water Health 2015; 13 (2): 427-36.
2 Legionnaires’ disease in residents of England and Wales: 2016. April 2018. Public Health England. [
www.tinyurl.com/yaamaq7m].
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October 2018 Health Estate Journal 105
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