Agricultural sprinkler irrigation systems as environmental reservoirs and airborne dissemination sources of Legionella pneumophila

Sprinkler irrigation systems are critical for modern agriculture but represent largely unrecognized aquatic environments capable of sustaining opportunistic human pathogens. Among them, Legionella pneumophila is of particular concern due to its ability to colonize engineered water systems, persist under fluctuating environmental conditions, and be transmitted through aerosols. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive microbiological and genomic investigation of irrigation ponds and ditches in a rural area of north-east Spain where two zones were sampled. Metagenomic profiling revealed highly diverse microbial communities encompassing more than 20,000 species, including 21 airborne-transmissible bacterial pathogens of clinical relevance. Notably, L. pneumophila was detected in both zones, with a relative abundance of up to 4.6 %. Culture-based isolation confirmed the presence of L. pneumophila serogroup 1, Pontiac group, Benidorm subgroup, sequence type 15. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated a close relationship between this environmental strain and clinical isolates obtained during a Legionnaires' disease outbreak occurred in 2015, which had remained without a confirmed environmental source. Meteorological data from the exposure period revealed wind conditions favouring long-distance aerosol dispersion from irrigated fields toward residential areas. Our findings provide evidence that irrigation infrastructures can act as environmental reservoirs and dissemination routes of L. pneumophila among other airborne pathogens. These results underscore the need to incorporate agricultural irrigation systems into routine environmental surveillance, outbreak investigations, and public health risk assessments.