Mycobacterium avium Complex (MAC) in Water Distribution Systems and Household Plumbing in the United States
| dc.contributor.author | Falkinham, Joseph O. III | en |
| dc.contributor.department | Biological Sciences | en |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2020-12-10T19:43:08Z | en |
| dc.date.available | 2020-12-10T19:43:08Z | en |
| dc.date.issued | 2020-11-28 | en |
| dc.date.updated | 2020-12-10T14:10:56Z | en |
| dc.description.abstract | Members of the <i>Mycobacterium avium</i> complex (MAC) are waterborne, opportunistic pathogens whose characteristics make urban water distribution systems and household plumbing ideal habitats for their survival, persistence and growth. Rather than contaminants, MAC are colonists of drinking water systems. MAC are normal inhabitants of natural soils and water, and enter drinking water treatment systems through surface sources. A proportion of MAC survive transmission through the treatment plant, and regrow in the distribution system and household plumbing. Once within household plumbing, MAC adhere to surfaces and form biofilms, thus preventing their washout. The thermal tolerance of MAC leads to growth in water heating systems. Stagnation does not reduce MAC numbers, as MAC can grow at low oxygen levels. MAC present challenges to current water monitoring approaches as their numbers do not correlate with <i>E. coli</i>, fecal coliforms or heterotrophic plate count bacteria. | en |
| dc.description.version | Published version | en |
| dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | en |
| dc.identifier.citation | Falkinham, J.O., III. Mycobacterium avium Complex (MAC) in Water Distribution Systems and Household Plumbing in the United States. Water 2020, 12, 3338. | en |
| dc.identifier.doi | https://doi.org/10.3390/w12123338 | en |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10919/101066 | en |
| dc.language.iso | en | en |
| dc.publisher | MDPI | en |
| dc.rights | Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International | en |
| dc.rights.uri | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ | en |
| dc.subject | Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) | en |
| dc.subject | disinfectant resistance | en |
| dc.subject | oligotrophic growth | en |
| dc.subject | growth at low oxygen | en |
| dc.subject | thermal tolerance | en |
| dc.subject | desiccation tolerance | en |
| dc.subject | biofilm formation | en |
| dc.title | Mycobacterium avium Complex (MAC) in Water Distribution Systems and Household Plumbing in the United States | en |
| dc.title.serial | Water | en |
| dc.type | Article - Refereed | en |
| dc.type.dcmitype | Text | en |