ASSE 12080- Legionella -Practice Exam
Study Guide Questions and Answers
2026 Updated.
The preferred tests for diagnosing Legionnaires' disease are _______ of ________ respiratory
secretions (e.g., sputum) on selective media and the Legionella ________ antigen test. - Answer
Culture, lower, urinary
If indications warrant testing a patient for Legionnaires' disease, it is best practice is to obtain
the following:
a. sputum for culture
b. urine for the urinary antigen test
c. both sputum for culture and urine for a urinary antigen test concurrently - Answer c. both
sputum for culture and urine for a urinary antigen test concurrently
Sputum for culture should ideally be obtained [before or after?] antibiotic treatment, but the
________ _________ test can detect Legionella infections in some cases for days to weeks after
antibiotic treatment. - Answer Urinary antigen
Legionnaires' disease is a serious type of pneumonia caused by _______, called Legionella, that
live in water. Legionella can make people sick when they _________ contaminated water from
building water systems that are not adequately maintained. - Answer bacteria, inhale
Legionella is found naturally in ________ environments, but generally the low amounts in
freshwater do not lead to disease. To pose a health risk, Legionella first has to _______. Then it
has to be _________ so people can breathe in small, contaminated water droplets. - Answer
freshwater, grow, aerosolized
Legionella can grow in many parts of building water systems that are continually _____. Certain
devices, such as hot and cold water ________ tanks, cooling towers, and decorative fountains
can spread __________ water droplets. - Answer wet, storage, contaminated
Construction, water main breaks, or changes in ________ water quality are examples of factors
_________ to buildings that can lead to Legionella growth. - Answer municipal, external
Biofilm, scale and sediment, water ___________ fluctuations, water pressure changes, pH,
inadequate disinfectant, and water stagnation are examples of __________ building factors that
can lead to Legionella growth - Answer temperature, internal
, Developing and maintaining a water management program is a multi-step, ____________
process. You need to review the elements of your program at least _______ per year. - Answer
continuous, once
There are 7 steps in developing and maintaining a water management program:
(1) establish a water management program ______ ,
(2) describe the building water systems using _____&_______
diagrams,
(3) identify areas where ____________ could grow and spread
(4) decide where control when control measures should be applied,
(5) Establish ways to __________ when control measures are not met,
(6) Make sure the program is running as designed and is effective,
(7) ____________ and communicate all activities. - Answer team, text & flow, Legionella,
intervene, document
Your water management program team could include the building owner or manager,
maintenance or ____________ employees, ______________ or chemical suppliers, and/or
other outside experts. Healthcare facilities should include someone who understands
accreditation standards and ______________ requirements, experts in ___________
prevention, a clinician with expertise in infectious diseases, and risk and quality management
staff. - Answer engineering, equipment, licensing, infection
You will need to write a simple description of your building water systems and devices,
including:
· Where the building connects to the __________ water supply
· How water is __________
· Where pools, hot tubs, cooling towers, and water heaters or boilers are located - Answer
municipal, distributed
In addition to developing a written description of your building water systems, you should
develop a ________ diagram that can be _________ understood by the whole team. - Answer
flow, easily
Identify where potentially ___________ conditions could occur in your building water systems.
Each condition should be addressed _______________ with a control point, ____________ ,
and limit. - Answer hazardous, individually, measure
If a control _________ (i.e., temperature or disinfectant levels) is not being met, you need to
take _____________ actions to get conditions back within an acceptable range. - Answer limit,
corrective
Study Guide Questions and Answers
2026 Updated.
The preferred tests for diagnosing Legionnaires' disease are _______ of ________ respiratory
secretions (e.g., sputum) on selective media and the Legionella ________ antigen test. - Answer
Culture, lower, urinary
If indications warrant testing a patient for Legionnaires' disease, it is best practice is to obtain
the following:
a. sputum for culture
b. urine for the urinary antigen test
c. both sputum for culture and urine for a urinary antigen test concurrently - Answer c. both
sputum for culture and urine for a urinary antigen test concurrently
Sputum for culture should ideally be obtained [before or after?] antibiotic treatment, but the
________ _________ test can detect Legionella infections in some cases for days to weeks after
antibiotic treatment. - Answer Urinary antigen
Legionnaires' disease is a serious type of pneumonia caused by _______, called Legionella, that
live in water. Legionella can make people sick when they _________ contaminated water from
building water systems that are not adequately maintained. - Answer bacteria, inhale
Legionella is found naturally in ________ environments, but generally the low amounts in
freshwater do not lead to disease. To pose a health risk, Legionella first has to _______. Then it
has to be _________ so people can breathe in small, contaminated water droplets. - Answer
freshwater, grow, aerosolized
Legionella can grow in many parts of building water systems that are continually _____. Certain
devices, such as hot and cold water ________ tanks, cooling towers, and decorative fountains
can spread __________ water droplets. - Answer wet, storage, contaminated
Construction, water main breaks, or changes in ________ water quality are examples of factors
_________ to buildings that can lead to Legionella growth. - Answer municipal, external
Biofilm, scale and sediment, water ___________ fluctuations, water pressure changes, pH,
inadequate disinfectant, and water stagnation are examples of __________ building factors that
can lead to Legionella growth - Answer temperature, internal
, Developing and maintaining a water management program is a multi-step, ____________
process. You need to review the elements of your program at least _______ per year. - Answer
continuous, once
There are 7 steps in developing and maintaining a water management program:
(1) establish a water management program ______ ,
(2) describe the building water systems using _____&_______
diagrams,
(3) identify areas where ____________ could grow and spread
(4) decide where control when control measures should be applied,
(5) Establish ways to __________ when control measures are not met,
(6) Make sure the program is running as designed and is effective,
(7) ____________ and communicate all activities. - Answer team, text & flow, Legionella,
intervene, document
Your water management program team could include the building owner or manager,
maintenance or ____________ employees, ______________ or chemical suppliers, and/or
other outside experts. Healthcare facilities should include someone who understands
accreditation standards and ______________ requirements, experts in ___________
prevention, a clinician with expertise in infectious diseases, and risk and quality management
staff. - Answer engineering, equipment, licensing, infection
You will need to write a simple description of your building water systems and devices,
including:
· Where the building connects to the __________ water supply
· How water is __________
· Where pools, hot tubs, cooling towers, and water heaters or boilers are located - Answer
municipal, distributed
In addition to developing a written description of your building water systems, you should
develop a ________ diagram that can be _________ understood by the whole team. - Answer
flow, easily
Identify where potentially ___________ conditions could occur in your building water systems.
Each condition should be addressed _______________ with a control point, ____________ ,
and limit. - Answer hazardous, individually, measure
If a control _________ (i.e., temperature or disinfectant levels) is not being met, you need to
take _____________ actions to get conditions back within an acceptable range. - Answer limit,
corrective
