<i>Legionella pneumophila</i>—Epidemiology and Characterization of Clinical Isolates, Slovenia, 2006–2020
<i>Legionella pneumophila</i> is the causative agent of severe Legionnaires’ disease (LD). Although an increasing number of LD cases have been observed, published data from Slovenia are very limited and data on molecular epidemiology are even scarcer. The present retrospective study (200...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2021-07-01
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| Series: | Diagnostics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/11/7/1201 |
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| author | Darja Keše Aljoša Obreza Tereza Rojko Tjaša Cerar Kišek |
| author_facet | Darja Keše Aljoša Obreza Tereza Rojko Tjaša Cerar Kišek |
| author_sort | Darja Keše |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <i>Legionella pneumophila</i> is the causative agent of severe Legionnaires’ disease (LD). Although an increasing number of LD cases have been observed, published data from Slovenia are very limited and data on molecular epidemiology are even scarcer. The present retrospective study (2006–2020) reports the results of the microbiological diagnosis of LD, as well as the epidemiology and characterization of the <i>Legionella</i> clinical isolates. We tested urine samples from 15,540 patients with pneumonia symptoms for <i>L. pneumophila</i> infection by urine antigen test, of which 717 (4.6%) tested positive. Isolation of <i>L. pneumophila</i> was successfully performed from 88 clinical specimens, with 82 (93.2%) being identified as <i>L. pneumophila</i> sg 1 and six (6.8%) as <i>L. pneumophila</i> sg 2–14. Sequence-based typing (SBT) identified 33 different sequence types (STs), the most frequent being ST1 and ST23. Sequence type 1 mainly comprised isolates belonging to the Philadelphia subgroup, and ST23 mostly to Allentown/France. The standard SBT scheme, as well as Dresden phenotyping for <i>L. pneumophila,</i> presented a high diversity among isolates. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:41:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0bd0086edac5495b8b0413fe924c96e1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-4418 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:41:45Z |
| publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diagnostics |
| spelling | doaj.art-0bd0086edac5495b8b0413fe924c96e12023-11-22T03:34:11ZengMDPI AGDiagnostics2075-44182021-07-01117120110.3390/diagnostics11071201<i>Legionella pneumophila</i>—Epidemiology and Characterization of Clinical Isolates, Slovenia, 2006–2020Darja Keše0Aljoša Obreza1Tereza Rojko2Tjaša Cerar Kišek3Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ljubljana, Zaloška 4, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaFaculty of Medicine, Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ljubljana, Zaloška 4, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaDepartment of Infectious Diseases, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Japljeva 2, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaFaculty of Medicine, Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Ljubljana, Zaloška 4, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia<i>Legionella pneumophila</i> is the causative agent of severe Legionnaires’ disease (LD). Although an increasing number of LD cases have been observed, published data from Slovenia are very limited and data on molecular epidemiology are even scarcer. The present retrospective study (2006–2020) reports the results of the microbiological diagnosis of LD, as well as the epidemiology and characterization of the <i>Legionella</i> clinical isolates. We tested urine samples from 15,540 patients with pneumonia symptoms for <i>L. pneumophila</i> infection by urine antigen test, of which 717 (4.6%) tested positive. Isolation of <i>L. pneumophila</i> was successfully performed from 88 clinical specimens, with 82 (93.2%) being identified as <i>L. pneumophila</i> sg 1 and six (6.8%) as <i>L. pneumophila</i> sg 2–14. Sequence-based typing (SBT) identified 33 different sequence types (STs), the most frequent being ST1 and ST23. Sequence type 1 mainly comprised isolates belonging to the Philadelphia subgroup, and ST23 mostly to Allentown/France. The standard SBT scheme, as well as Dresden phenotyping for <i>L. pneumophila,</i> presented a high diversity among isolates.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/11/7/1201<i>Legionnaires’</i> diseasediagnosis<i>Legionella pneumophila</i> typingcultivationepidemiology |
| spellingShingle | Darja Keše Aljoša Obreza Tereza Rojko Tjaša Cerar Kišek <i>Legionella pneumophila</i>—Epidemiology and Characterization of Clinical Isolates, Slovenia, 2006–2020 Diagnostics <i>Legionnaires’</i> disease diagnosis <i>Legionella pneumophila</i> typing cultivation epidemiology |
| title | <i>Legionella pneumophila</i>—Epidemiology and Characterization of Clinical Isolates, Slovenia, 2006–2020 |
| title_full | <i>Legionella pneumophila</i>—Epidemiology and Characterization of Clinical Isolates, Slovenia, 2006–2020 |
| title_fullStr | <i>Legionella pneumophila</i>—Epidemiology and Characterization of Clinical Isolates, Slovenia, 2006–2020 |
| title_full_unstemmed | <i>Legionella pneumophila</i>—Epidemiology and Characterization of Clinical Isolates, Slovenia, 2006–2020 |
| title_short | <i>Legionella pneumophila</i>—Epidemiology and Characterization of Clinical Isolates, Slovenia, 2006–2020 |
| title_sort | i legionella pneumophila i epidemiology and characterization of clinical isolates slovenia 2006 2020 |
| topic | <i>Legionnaires’</i> disease diagnosis <i>Legionella pneumophila</i> typing cultivation epidemiology |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/11/7/1201 |
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