Investigation of water samples for the presence of the Naegleria Fowler microorganism is a very long process that has its specifics. This was emphasized by the main hygienist of the Slovak Republic Tatiana Červeňová. As explained by the microbiologist and head of the Laboratory Activities Section of the Public Health Authority (ÚVZ) SR Martin Sojka, For reliable identification, individual microorganisms in the sample must be gradually separated and so -called. pure culture. In his words, this may take several days, weeks, but also months.
“We are currently working on 105 different samples from the Vadas swimming pool. (…) We have already communicated preliminary results before, we have no more detailed results yet,” said Sojka.
He explained that Samples are monitored on pre -prepared Petri bowls with agar soil and a culture of bacteria, which serves as a food amoeb. The samples prepared in this way must be cultivated for some time at thermostats at different temperatures in order to capture and multiply the amoeb cells on the soil. In the case of these organisms, he said it is three to ten days, depending on the type of Ameb. After cultivation, the bowls are evaluated for the presence of amoeba microscopically, the presence of cysts or moving stages is monitored.
However, it is first necessary to separate the amoeba from other types of microorganisms found in the samples. “It is not easy to investigate a sample of swimming pool water or a steer from the environment, as it is usually not a sample where there is a so -called pure culture, ie only one type of amoeba or microorganism. In order to reliably identify the microorganisms, we need to separate them, get pure cultures and then identify them, ”explained Sojka, saying that this process of cleaning and repeating cell transfer to new bowls (so -called passage) requires a relatively long time.
Employees of the thermal swimming pool in Štúrovo Vadas Thermal Resort, as well as entrepreneurs, city residents or visitors expressed on Sunday 22 June Support of the swimming pool and dissatisfaction with its closure. Endre Hogenbuch, director of the swimming pool, criticized the ÚVZ SR that Not even eight days after taking samples of water from the pools he could not issue an official opinion on the results.
The control of the swimming pool is related to the death of an 11-year-old boy who has infected with the microorganism of Naegleria Fowleri. The boy attended swimming training in Vadaš in early June. The area of the thermal swimming pool is preventively closed from Sunday 15 June. According to Lívia Németh from Vadaša, about 20,000 people have visited the swimming pool since June, no other similar case was recorded with visitors.
