Dr. Janet Stout

Dr. Janet Stout

Dr. Janet E. Stout is founder of Special Pathogens Technology, executive vice president and founder of Special Pathogens Laboratory, and research associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
An infectious disease microbiologist, Dr. Stout is recognized worldwide for more than 30 years of pioneering research in Legionella. Her expertise includes disinfection and control strategies for the prevention of Legionnaires’ disease and other waterborne pathogens.

Credited as the first to demonstrate the link between Legionnaires’ disease and the presence of Legionella in hospital water systems, Dr. Stout’s seminal discovery in 1982, shifted the focus from cooling towers to water distributions systems as the primary source for Legionnaires’ disease. This changed the direction of research and expanded the water treatment industry’s approach to controlling Legionella. Since then, Dr. Stout has evaluated every major Legionella disinfection technology used today.

An advocate for prevention, Dr. Stout was instrumental in developing the first U.S. prevention strategy for hospital-acquired Legionnaires’ disease in 1993. Later adopted by the Veteran’s Health Administration and others, the guideline continues to serve as a national model for Legionella prevention.

In response to the need for Legionella competency due to the increasing demand for Legionella services, Dr. Stout was instrumental in the creation of the first professional qualifications standard, ASSE/IAPMO/ANSI 12080 Professional Qualifications Standard: Legionella Water Safety and Management Personnel. In partnership with IAPMO, Dr. Stout, a certified ASSE instructor, and her teaching team, offer the first and only live, virtual ASSE 12080 certification training. Launched in 2020, more than 500 professionals have been trained.

Dr. Stout’s research has been published in peer-reviewed medical and scientific journals on Legionella and Legionnaires’ disease including: The New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association, the Journal of Clinical Microbiology, the Journal of Infectious Diseases, and the Journal of the American Water Works Association. She has also authored book chapters on Legionnaires’ disease, including the Legionella chapter in the Manual of Clinical Microbiology, Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Control, and the APIC Text.

A much sought after national and international speaker, Dr. Stout has been invited to speak at the International Symposium on Legionella and the European Working Group on Legionnaires’ Disease numerous times. In addition, she regularly speaks at annual scientific and professional conferences for microbiology and infectious disease, the water treatment industry, and facilities management organizations.

Dr. Stout is a member of the American Society for Microbiology, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), Association of Water Technologies (AWT), and the Cooling Technology Institute (CTI). She serves on Legionella standards and guidelines committees for both ASHRAE and CTI.

Selected Publications

  • Lin YE, Stout JE and Yu VL. Controlling Legionella in Hospital Drinking Water: An Evidence-Based Review of Disinfection Methods Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology
    2011 32(2):166-173.
  • Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories  (BMBL) 5th Edition
    U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health Fifth Edition, Feb 2007.
  • Newly revised Legionella “Agent Summary” in the 5th Edition of the CDC “Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL)”.
  • Drenning SD, Joly JR, JE Stout, Yu, VL. Unexpected similarity of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns of unrelated clinical isolates of Legionella pneumophila, serogroup 1.  J Infect. Dis 183:628-632, 2001.
  • Stout JE, Yu VL.  Legionella in the hospital water supply: a plea for decision-making based on evidence-based medicine.  Infection Control and Hosp. Epid. 22 (11): 670-672, 2001.
  • Singh N, Stout JE, Yu VL.  Legionnaires’ disease in a renal transplant recipient: nosocomial or home-grown?  Transplantation 2002; 76(6): 755-756.
  • Lin YE, Vidic RD, Stout JE, Yu VL.  Negative effect of high pH on biocidal efficacy of copper and silver ions in controlling Legionella pneumophila.  J. Appl. Environ. Microbiol.; 68(6); 2711-2715, 2002.
  • Pedro-Botet ML, Stout JE, Yu VL.  Legionnaires’ disease contracted from patient homes: the coming of the third plague?  Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 2002; 21:699 705
  • Squier C, Rihs JD, Risa KJ, Sagnimeni A, Wagener MM, Stout J, Muder, RR, Singh N. Staphylococcus aureus rectal carriage and its association with infections in patients in a surgical intensive care unit and a liver transplant unit.  Infect Cont Hosp Epidemiol 2002; 23: 495-501.
  •  Lin YE, Vidic RD, Stout JE, Yu VL.  Negative effect of high pH on biocidal efficacy of copper and silver ions in controlling Legionella pneumophila.  J. Appl. Environ. Microbiol.; 68(6); 2711-2715, 2002.
  • Stout JE, Yu, VL.  Experience of the first 16 hospitals using copper-silver ionizaton for Legionellacontrol: implications for the evaluation of other disinfection modalities.  Infection Control Hosp. Epid. 2003; 24(8): 563-568.
  • Stout JE, Yu, VL.  Hospital-acquired Legionnaires’ disease: new developments.  Curr Opin Infect Dis 2003; 16(4):337-341.
  • Kwak EJ, Husain S, Obman A, Meinke L, Stout JE, Kusne S, Wagener MM, Singh N. Efficacy of galactomannan antigen in the platelia Aspergillus enzyme immunoassay for diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis in liver transplant recipients. J. Clin. Microbiol. 2004;42(1): 435-438.
  • Sidari FP, Stout JE, VanBriesen JM, Bowman AM, Grubb D, Neuner A, Wagener MM,  Yu VL.  Chlorine dioxide as a disinfection method for Legionella control.  J Amer Water Works Assoc. 2004; 96: 111-119.
  • J.E. Stout and R.R. Muder.  Legionella in Residential Water Systems.  ASHRAE Journal. 2004 ; 46 :52-54.
  • Yu VL,  Greenberg, RN, Zadeikis, N, Stout, JE, Kashab MM, Olson WH, Tennenberg AM,.  Levofloxacin efficacy in the treatment of community-acquired Legionellosis.  Chest 2004; 125:2135-2139.
  • Stout, JE and Muder, RR.  Legionella in Residential Water Systems.  ASHRAE Journal. 2004 ; 46 : 52-54.
  • Stout, JE, Sens K, Mietzner S, Obman A, Yu, VL.  Comparative activity of quinolones, macrolides, and ketolides against Legionella species using in vitro broth dilution and intracellular susceptibility testing. Int J Antimicrob Agents 2005; 25:302-307.
  • Squier CL, Stout JE, Krystofiak S, McMahon J, Wagener MM, Dixon B. Yu VL.  A proactive approach to prevention of healthcare-acquired Legionnaires’ disease:  the Allegheny County (Pittsburgh) experience.  Am. J. Infect. Control 2005; 33(6): 360-367.
  • Sheffer PJ, Stout JE, Wagener MM, Muder RR.  Efficacy of new point-of-use filter for preventing exposure to Legionella and waterborne bacteria.  Am. J. Infect. Control. 2005; 33(5) Suppl. 1: S20-S25.
  • Muder RR, Brennen C, Rihs JD, Wagener MM, Obman A, Stout JE, Yu VL.  Isolation of Staphylococcus aureus from urinary tract: association of isolation with subsequent staphylococcal bacteremia.  Clin Infect Dis 2006; 142(1): 46-50.
  • Stout JE, Muder RR, Mietzner S, Wagener MM, et al.  Role of environmental surveillance in determining risk for hospital-acquired Legionnaires’ disease: a national survey with clinical correlations.  Infect Control Hosp Epidiol. 2007.
  • See more publications on Legionella.org