Investigation of the presence of legionella pneumophila in various cooling systems and water systems in Gaziantep city center

İn this study, the presence of Legionella pneumophila located in water tank, tap water, cooling systems, faucets and shower heads in schools, hospitals and hotels in Gaziantep City center was investigated and their serogroups were determined. Between November 2012 and June 2013, 82 L. pneumophila in water samples and 231 (73.80%) L. pneumophila in swab samples from cooling systems, taps and shower heads were included in the study. Water and swab samples were inoculated in GVPC-Medium and incubated at 37 °C for 15 days. After incubation, suspected colonies were performed with gram staining and inoculated in TSA and GVPCMedium separately, and then incubated at 37 °C for 48 hours for identification. L. pneumophila colonies were serotyped with latex agglutination test (Oxoid). 93 (29.71%) of 313 samples were L. pneumophila. 74 of detected L. pneumophila is serogroups 2-14, 19 (20.43%) of them were the serogroup 1. L. pneumophila in many central water system in Gaziantep was has been shown to be colonized. These areas may be sources of L. pneumophila infection for humans. So we suggested that screening cultures should be taken from water systems in Gaziantep City center and, it is needed decontamination applications should be performed. Key Words: Legionella pneumophila, Gaziantep, water system