Microbiology and Epidemiology of Legionnaire's Disease

• Almudena Burillo ^[1] ; María Luisa Pedro-Botet ^[2] ; Emilio Bouza ^[1]
  1. [1] Universidad Complutense de Madrid

     Universidad Complutense de Madrid

     Madrid, España

     
  2. [2] Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

     Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

     Barcelona, España

     
• Localización: Infectious disease clinics of North America, ISSN 0891-5520, Vol. 31, Nº. 1, 2017, págs. 7-27
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Legionnaire's disease (LD) is the pneumonic form of legionellosis caused by aerobic gram-negative bacilli of the genus Legionella. Individuals become infected when they inhale aerosolized water droplets contaminated with Legionella species. Forty years after the identification of Legionella pneumophila as the cause of the 1976 pneumonia outbreak in a hotel in Philadelphia, we have non–culture-based diagnostic tests, effective antibiotics, and preventive measures to handle LD. With a mortality rate still around 10%, underreporting, and sporadic outbreaks, there is still much work to be done. In this article, the authors review the microbiology, laboratory diagnosis, and epidemiology of LD.