Analysis of Legionella

 

 

General about Legionella

Legionella is a naturally occurring bacterium that causes problems only when it propagates in various water-borne systems and installations. The proliferation of free-living amoebas and other protozoa such as ciliates is rapid and may also result in increased virulence (disease capacity) of Legionella. The most common source of infection is where the growth occurs in potable hot water. Significant levels have also been analysed in cold tap water at elevated temperatures or at local heating in poorly insulated pipes in pipe shafts and sub-centrals.

 

Micans offers a complete analysis program for Legionella according to the standard ISO 11731: 2017 (Water quality - Enumeration of Legionella). Upon request, we can type-determine Legionella as well as send positive isolates to the Public Health Agency of Sweden for further investigation and infection mapping.

 

Analysis costs

Price (SEK excl. VAT) 

Legionella in potable water

Accredited analysis: Membrane filtration, BCYE * agar or GVPC ** agar with and without acid treatment, verification of BCYE agar with and without cysteine. Detection range> 5 cfu / liter <10 000 cfu / liter.

930 SEK

 

Legionella in industrial environments, e.g. process water or cooling towers

Accredited analysis: Direct inoculation on GVPC agar after dilution and acid treatment or heat treatment, verification on BCYE agar with and without cysteine. Detection range> 1000 cfu / liter <20 000 000 cfu / liter.

1440 SEK

 

Legionella in solid materials, e.g. biofilm, soil, sediment and filter materials (contact us for sampling instructions)

Accredited analysis after extraction step: Extraction, dilution and direct inoculation on GVPC agar after acid treatment and / or heat treatment, verification on BCYE agar with and without cysteine. Detection limit> 700 cfu / gram.

1650 SEK

 

Legionella on surfaces, swab specimens (contact us for sampling instructions)

Accredited analysis after extraction step: Extraction, dilution and direct inoculation on GVPC agar after acid treatment and / or heat treatment, verification on BCYE agar with and without cysteine.

955 SEK

 

Legionella in swimming pools and SPA

Accredited analysis: Membrane filtration or direct inoculation on GVPC agar after acid treatment or heat treatment, verification on BCYE agar with and without cysteine. Membrane filter detection range> 5 cfu / liter <10 000 cfu / liter Detection range direct smudge> 1 000 cfu / liter <20 000 000 cfu / liter

930 SEK

 

Legionella in bioremediation facilities

Accredited analysis: Homogenization, dilution and direct inoculation on GVPC agar after acid treatment and heat treatment, verification on BCYE agar with and without cysteine. Detection limit> 100 000 cfu / liter.

1755 SEK

 

Legionella typing (latex agglutination)

Accredited analysis: Legionella pneumophilia serogroup 1, serogroup 2-14 and Legionella species.

420 SEK

 

Analyzed specimens and culture plates are stored for 14 days after sample responses are sent to the customer.

 a cfu = colony forming units

 * Buffered Charcoal Yeast Extract

 ** Glycine Vancomycin Polymixin B Cycloheximide 

 

Sampling

The sampling procedure for Legionella varies depending on the system being tested. The Public Health Authority of Sweden provides suggestions on how sampling can be done for the most common water sample types in the knowledge compilation chapter on Environmental Analysis of Legionella (see especially Table 1). Contact us for sampling instructions.

 

Order sample bottles and analysis

Contact us by phone on + 46 31 338 32 30 or at analys@micans.se  for ordering sample bottles. It is an advantage for laboratory planning if you can inform us about sample type, number of samples and estimated delivery date in advance. Along with the sample bottles is also sent a delivery note. This must be completed and returned together with the samples.

The current standard for water studies* recommends that samples for Legionella be analyzed within 24 hours. Furthermore, it is considered acceptable with analysis within 48 hours, provided the sample is kept cool at 5 ° C ± 3 ° C until analysis.

Samples should be sent with fast and safe transport to our laboratory. Please note that the samples must be delivered directly to the laboratory (not to delivery points).

Microbial Analytics Sweden AB
Bruksgatan 17
SE-435 35 Mölnlycke, Sweden

 

If you want to analyze more than 10 samples per day, the laboratory must be contacted at least 2 days in advance. Quotation can be submitted for larger orders. If you have any questions, please contact us on +46 31 338 32 30 or at analys@micans.se

If there is doubt about the completed delivery note, e.g. If it is not possible to discern which sample is which or if the sample does not meet the time and temperature requirements specified in the applicable standard, the customer will be contacted.

If customer cannot be reached within the analysis time window, Micans reserves the right not to analyze the samples.

 

*SS-EN ISO 19458: 2006

Micans laboratory for analysis of Legionella