Pontiac fever: an operational definition for epidemiological studies
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Pontiac fever is usually described in epidemic settings. Detection of Pontiac fever is a marker of an environmental contamination by <it>Legionella </it>and should thereby call for prevention measures in order to prevent...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2006-04-01
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| Series: | BMC Public Health |
| Online Access: | http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/6/112 |
| _version_ | 1811315149321011200 |
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| author | Mathieu Laurence Hartemann Philippe Zmirou-Navier Denis Deloge-Abarkan Magali Tossa Paul |
| author_facet | Mathieu Laurence Hartemann Philippe Zmirou-Navier Denis Deloge-Abarkan Magali Tossa Paul |
| author_sort | Mathieu Laurence |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Pontiac fever is usually described in epidemic settings. Detection of Pontiac fever is a marker of an environmental contamination by <it>Legionella </it>and should thereby call for prevention measures in order to prevent outbreak of Legionnaire's disease. The objective of this study is to propose an operational definition of Pontiac fever that is amenable to epidemiological surveillance and investigation in a non epidemic setting.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A population of 560 elderly subjects residing in 25 nursing homes was followed during 4 months in order to assess the daily incidence of symptoms associated, in the literature, with Pontiac fever. The water and aerosol of one to 8 showers by nursing home were characterized combining conventional bacterial culture of <it>Legionella </it>and the Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) technique that used oligonucleotides probes specific for <it>Legionellaceae</it>. A definition of Pontiac fever was devised based on clinical symptoms described in epidemic investigations and on their timing after the exposure event. The association between incidence of Pontiac fever and shower contamination levels was evaluated to test the relevance of this definition.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The proposed definition of Pontiac fever associated the following criteria: occurrence of at least one symptom among headache, myalgia, fever and shivers, possibly associated with other 'minor' symptoms, within three days after a shower contaminated by <it>Legionella</it>, during a maximum of 8 days (minimum 2 days). 23 such cases occurred during the study (incidence rate: 0.125 cases per person-year [95% CI: 0.122–0.127]). A concentration of <it>Legionella </it>in water equal to or greater than 10<sup>4</sup>.L<sup>-1 </sup>(FISH method) was associated with a significant increase of incidence of Pontiac fever (p = 0.04).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Once validated in other settings, the proposed definition of Pontiac fever might be used to develop epidemiological surveillance and help draw attention on sources of <it>Legionella</it>.</p> |
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3fae5b7631c241d49c5fffeaacc1c3c0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2458 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T11:25:02Z |
| publishDate | 2006-04-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-3fae5b7631c241d49c5fffeaacc1c3c02022-12-22T02:48:43ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582006-04-016111210.1186/1471-2458-6-112Pontiac fever: an operational definition for epidemiological studiesMathieu LaurenceHartemann PhilippeZmirou-Navier DenisDeloge-Abarkan MagaliTossa Paul<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Pontiac fever is usually described in epidemic settings. Detection of Pontiac fever is a marker of an environmental contamination by <it>Legionella </it>and should thereby call for prevention measures in order to prevent outbreak of Legionnaire's disease. The objective of this study is to propose an operational definition of Pontiac fever that is amenable to epidemiological surveillance and investigation in a non epidemic setting.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A population of 560 elderly subjects residing in 25 nursing homes was followed during 4 months in order to assess the daily incidence of symptoms associated, in the literature, with Pontiac fever. The water and aerosol of one to 8 showers by nursing home were characterized combining conventional bacterial culture of <it>Legionella </it>and the Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) technique that used oligonucleotides probes specific for <it>Legionellaceae</it>. A definition of Pontiac fever was devised based on clinical symptoms described in epidemic investigations and on their timing after the exposure event. The association between incidence of Pontiac fever and shower contamination levels was evaluated to test the relevance of this definition.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The proposed definition of Pontiac fever associated the following criteria: occurrence of at least one symptom among headache, myalgia, fever and shivers, possibly associated with other 'minor' symptoms, within three days after a shower contaminated by <it>Legionella</it>, during a maximum of 8 days (minimum 2 days). 23 such cases occurred during the study (incidence rate: 0.125 cases per person-year [95% CI: 0.122–0.127]). A concentration of <it>Legionella </it>in water equal to or greater than 10<sup>4</sup>.L<sup>-1 </sup>(FISH method) was associated with a significant increase of incidence of Pontiac fever (p = 0.04).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Once validated in other settings, the proposed definition of Pontiac fever might be used to develop epidemiological surveillance and help draw attention on sources of <it>Legionella</it>.</p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/6/112 |
| spellingShingle | Mathieu Laurence Hartemann Philippe Zmirou-Navier Denis Deloge-Abarkan Magali Tossa Paul Pontiac fever: an operational definition for epidemiological studies BMC Public Health |
| title | Pontiac fever: an operational definition for epidemiological studies |
| title_full | Pontiac fever: an operational definition for epidemiological studies |
| title_fullStr | Pontiac fever: an operational definition for epidemiological studies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pontiac fever: an operational definition for epidemiological studies |
| title_short | Pontiac fever: an operational definition for epidemiological studies |
| title_sort | pontiac fever an operational definition for epidemiological studies |
| url | http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/6/112 |
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