Impact of building closures during the COVID-19 pandemic on Legionella infection risks

Prolonged building closures are prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in extreme stagnation in building water systems. High-throughput sequencing analysis revealed significantly increased presence of Legionella due to extreme water stagnation, highlighting elevated exposure risks to Legionella from building water systems during re-opening of previously closed buildings. (c) 2021 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Prolonged building closures during the COVID-19 pandemic have led to extreme stagnation in building water systems, resulting in significantly increased presence of Legionella. Re-opening previously closed buildings poses elevated exposure risks to Legionella from building water systems.