Genotypic and Phenotypic Methods for the Investigation of a Nosocomial Legionella pneumophila Outbreak and Efficacy of Control Measures

To determine the source of a nosocomial outbreak of Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 infection and the efficacy of control measures, clinical and environmental isolates were characterized by molecular subtyping and disease surveillance was conducted. The outbreak involved 32 cases (relative risk,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of infectious diseases 1992-07, Vol.166 (1), p.22-30
Main Authors: Struelens, Marc J., Maes, Nicole, Rost, Francis, Deplano, Ariane, Jacobs, Frédérique, Liesnard, Corinne, Bornstein, Nicole, Grimont, Francine, Lauwers, Sabine, McIntyre, Michael P., Serruys, Elisabeth
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Belgium - epidemiology
Biological and medical sciences
Cross Infection - epidemiology
Cross Infection - microbiology
Cross Infection - prevention & control
Disease Outbreaks
Disinfection
Epidemics
Epidemiology
Genotype
Humans
Immune Tolerance
Infections
Infectious diseases
Legionella
Legionella pneumophila
Legionella pneumophila - classification
Legionellosis
Legionnaires disease
Legionnaires' Disease - epidemiology
Legionnaires' Disease - microbiology
Legionnaires' Disease - prevention & control
Major Articles
Medical sciences
Phenotype
Restriction Mapping
Retrospective Studies
Serotyping
Water Microbiology
Water pollution
Water Supply - standards
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:To determine the source of a nosocomial outbreak of Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 infection and the efficacy of control measures, clinical and environmental isolates were characterized by molecular subtyping and disease surveillance was conducted. The outbreak involved 32 cases (relative risk, 4.0; P < .001 vs. previous period). Water colonization with L. pneumophila serogroup 1 and patients' exposure to faucet use incriminated the water system as the environmental source. Monoclonal antibody typing showed that patient isolates belonged mainly to type Pontiac and water isolates mainly to type Bellingham (P < .001). By four genotypic techniques, outbreak-related isolates from patients and the water system were found to be clonally related and distinct from control strains (P < .001). Heat and UV light treatment of the water system showed a protective efficacy of 88% (95% confidence interval, 75%–94%). These findings indicate that phenotypic variation may interfere with monoclonal antibody typing of legionellae and that waterborne legionellosis can be controlled by physical disinfection.
ISSN:0022-1899
1537-6613
DOI:10.1093/infdis/166.1.22