Opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens, or OPPPs, are pathogens that cause waterborne disease. Three major pathogens are Legionella pneumophila, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Mycobacterium avium, and both the incidence and prevalence of diseases caused by OPPPs is currently increasing at an alarming rate. These diseases are a threat to human health and incur great economic cost. While OPPPs have been proposed as normal inhabitants of drinking water systems and premise plumbing as a result of a set of shared characteristics, there are other microbial opportunistic pathogens that are “emerging” OPPPs. As older individuals are more susceptible to OPPP infection and disease and that the proportion of United States citizens over than 60 years will increase to 25 % of the total population by 2025, infection and disease caused by OPPPs will continue to increase unless measures are taken to reduce exposure.

Introduction to Opportunistic Premise Plumbing Pathogens introduces and describes opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens (OPPPs) and their impact on both public health and economics. Dr. Falkinham aims to list and describe the shared characteristics of the emerging group of water-borne pathogens that are normal inhabitants of drinking water systems and premise plumbing, describe the selective conditions of drinking water distribution systems and premise plumbing that have led to the emergence of OPPPs, and review of the results of studies whose objectives have been to describe microbial adaptations leading to survival, persistence, and growth in drinking water distribution systems and premise plumbing.

Introduction to Opportunistic Premise Plumbing Pathogens will begin with an introductory overview of these pathogens and the threat they pose to human health. Dr. Falkinham then moves to a description of the characteristics of premise plumbing - high surface-volume ratio, mixed combination of materials, low disinfectant residual, stagnation and warm water in systems - before he discusses specific OPPPs like Legionella pneumophila, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Mycobacterium avium, describing the diseases and risk factors, epidemiology, ecology, sources and transmission pathways of each. The sections that follow cover selection for OPPPs in premise plumbing and distribution systems, emerging OPPPs (Segniliparus spp., Stentrophomonas spp., Acinetobacter baumanii, Aeromonas hydrophila and Cronobacter spp.), Detection Methods and Source Tracking OPPPs, Possible Measures to Reduce Exposure to OPPPs (including measures by water utility and by property owner/manager). The book concludes with a critical analysis section.