ICC Water & Health / ICC / News

Austrian Hygiene Award for Silvia Cervero-Aragó

Within the 23rd Dosch-Symposium for hospital hygiene, taking place from June 15 - 17, 2015 in Velden am Wörthersee, the Austrian Hygiene Award was awarded to our ICC Water & Health member Silvia Cervero-Aragó.


Hygiene Award 2015

Hygiene Award 2015 within the frame of Dosch-Symposium for hospital hygiene. f.l.t.r. Gerhard Gribl, Regulatory Manager von Unilever; Priv. Doz. Dr. Judith Wenisch, Wilhelminenspital; Silvia Cervero-Aragó, Medical University Vienna and ICC Water & Health; Univ. Prof. Dr. Martin Wagner, Presisdent of the ÖGHMP

The Austrian Hygiene Award was awarded to Dr. Silvia Cervero-Aragó, our Post-Doc member at the Interuniversity Cooperation Centre for Water and Health (ICC Water & Health) at the Institute for Hygiene and Applied Immunology.

The honoured work is entitled "Effect of UV-irradiation (253.7nm) on free Legionella and Legionella associated with its amoebal hosts", and was published in the top-journal „Water Research“ by the end of 2014*.

In the study, important findings on the effects of microbial interactions between legionellae and amoebae on the efficacy of UV-disinfection were investigated. Legionellae and amoebae jointly colonize artifical water systems and can cause severe human disease – like Legionnaires Disease. Silvia Cervero-Aragó: “As legionellae that are associated with amoebae are more resistent to disinfection, these interactions have to be considered when applying disinfection measures like UV disinfection. This award acknowledges our scientific work and gives us the motivation to continue with our efforts.“

This year, the Austrian Hygiene Award that is awarded since 1976 by the ÖGHMP (Austrian Society for Hygiene, Microbiology and Preventive Medicine) and that is financed by the company Unilever with 4400 Euros, was split into two parts. The second laureate was Priv. Doz. Dr. Judith Wenisch, physician at the Wilhelminenspital Vienna. Money and Certificates were handed over during opening ceremony of the Austrian Hygiene Conference – DOSCH-Symposium – on Juni, 15, 2015, in Velden am Wörthersee.

* Cervero-Aragó S, Sommer R, Araujo RM (2014) Effect of UV-irradiation (253.7nm) on free Legionella and Legionella associated withwith its amoebal hosts. Water Research 67: 299-309



The ICC Water & Health
is a Cooporation of:

Technische Universität Wien
Medizinische Universität Wien
Karl Landsteiner Privatuniversität für Gesundheitswissenschaften