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Table 1 Reports implicating drains as the source of outbreaks

From: Drainage systems, an occluded source of sanitation related outbreaks

Microorganism

Reservoir

Location

References

SARS

Dry U-traps

Community, Amoy Garden, Hong Kong

WHO [8]

Multidrug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Faulty drains

Hospital-wide and medical unit, England

Breathnach et al. [7]

Carbapenem resistant Enterobacteriaceae

Sink drains

ICU, Melbourne, Australia

Kotsanas et al. [9]

Several different fungi

Drains in bathrooms Drains in kitchen sinks

Community, Osaka, Japan

Hamada et al. [10]

Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Sink drains Whirlpool drains

ICU at Burn hospital, Cincinnati, OH

Edmonds et al. [11]

Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Sink drains

Medical-Surgical ICU, Chicago, IL

Levin et al. [12]

Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Toilets

Out patients, Tübingen, Germany

Döring et al. [13]

Fusarium spp.

Plumbing drains

131 buildings from 8 states, US

Short et al. [6]

extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing (ESBL) Enterobacteriaceae

Sink drains

Cardiac-Surgical ICU, France

Kac et al. [14]

Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Sink drains

Hematology unit, Lund, Sweden

Dagens Nyheter [15]

ESBL Klebsiella pneumoniae

Sink drains

Neurosurgical ICU, Uppsala, Sweden

Starlander et al. [5]

Klebsiella pneumonia Carbapenem resistant

Sink drains

ICU, Sørlandet, Norway

Tofteland et al. [16]

Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Drains

ICU, Edinburgh, UK

Gillespie et al. [17]

ESBL Enterobacteriaceae

Sink drains

ICU, Tours, France

Roux et al. [18]

Carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa

Unsealed drain

Urology ward, Barcelona, Spain

Peña et al. [19]

P. aeruginosa with unusual antibiogram

Drains

Neurosurgery ICU, Clichy, France

Bert et al. [20]

ESBL Klebsiella oxytoca

Sink drains

Hospital, Toronto, Canada

Lowe et al. [21]

Foot Mouth Disease virus

Leaking drains

Community, Pirbright, UK

HSE [22]

P. aeruginosa

Grooved drainage design

Haemotology, Singapore

Ling and How [23]

Carbapenem resistant Klebsiella oxytoca

Drainpipes, traps

ICU, Spain

Vergeres -Lopez et al. [24]