Falkinham, Joseph O. III2021-01-042021-01-042020-12-18Falkinham, J.O., III. Living with Legionella and Other Waterborne Pathogens. Microorganisms 2020, 8, 2026.http://hdl.handle.net/10919/101722<i>Legionella</i> spp. and other opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens (OPPPs), including <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>, <i>Mycobacterium avium</i>, <i>Stenotrophomonas maltophilia</i>, and <i>Acinetobacter baumannii</i>, are normal inhabitants of natural waters, drinking water distribution systems and premise plumbing. Thus, humans are regularly exposed to these pathogens. Unfortunately, <i>Legionella</i> spp. and the other OPPPs share a number of features that allow them to grow and persist in premise plumbing. They form biofilms and are also relatively disinfectant-resistant, able to grow at low organic matter concentrations, and able to grow under stagnant conditions. Infections have been traced to exposure to premise plumbing or aerosols generated in showers. A number of measures can lead to reduction in OPPP numbers in premise plumbing, including elevation of water heater temperatures.application/pdfenCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 Internationalpremise plumbingdisinfectant-resistantoligotrophicstagnantbiofilm formationArticle - Refereed2020-12-24https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8122026