Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Clinical Microbiology logoLink to Journal of Clinical Microbiology
. 1984 Apr;19(4):468–472. doi: 10.1128/jcm.19.4.468-472.1984

Retrospective examination of lung tissue specimens for the presence of Legionella organisms: comparison of an indirect fluorescent-antibody system with direct fluorescent-antibody testing.

S L Brown, W F Bibb, R M McKinney
PMCID: PMC271097  PMID: 6371048

Abstract

Although direct fluorescent-antibody (DFA) testing has been used successfully for a number of years to detect legionellae in clinical specimens, the number of known species and serogroups of Legionella has now increased to such an extent that the performance of DFA testing for all serological variants is impractical. Lung homogenates that were submitted to the Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, Ga., from patients with suspected legionellosis, from November 1977 through May 1982, were originally screened by DFA testing. In our study 498 of these lung homogenates were screened by indirect fluorescent-antibody (IFA) testing, using a panvalent antiserum pool containing antibodies to 25 serological variants of Legionella spp. Fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled goat anti-rabbit immunoglobulin was used as the second antibody of the sandwich system. For positive homogenates, i.e., those containing Legionella organisms, species and serogroup identification was made by IFA staining with polyvalent serum pools and then with monovalent antiserum. Of the 498 homogenates screened, 39 (7.8%) were positive by IFA testing. Four (0.8% of total; 10.3% of positive homogenates) of these had previously been negative by DFA testing, but subsequent testing showed that they contained Legionella organisms for which DFA reagents were not available at the initial screening. All specimens that were positive by DFA testing were also positive by IFA testing. IFA testing with polyvalent antisera is a simple, efficient method which is at least as sensitive as DFA testing and which can be used by clinical laboratories to cope with the increasing number of known serological variants of Legionella spp.

Full text

PDF
468

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bibb W. F., Arnow P. M., Dellinger D. L., Perryman S. R. Isolation and characterization of a seventh serogroup of Legionella pneumophila. J Clin Microbiol. 1983 Feb;17(2):346–348. doi: 10.1128/jcm.17.2.346-348.1983. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bibb W. F., Sorg R. J., Thomason B. M., Hicklin M. D., Steigerwalt A. G., Brenner D. J., Wulf M. R. Recognition of a second serogroup of Legionella longbeachae. J Clin Microbiol. 1981 Dec;14(6):674–677. doi: 10.1128/jcm.14.6.674-677.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bissett M. L., Lee J. O., Lindquist D. S. New serogroup of Legionella pneumophila, serogroup 8. J Clin Microbiol. 1983 May;17(5):887–891. doi: 10.1128/jcm.17.5.887-891.1983. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Blackmon J. A., Chandler F. W., Cherry W. B., England A. C., 3rd, Feeley J. C., Hicklin M. D., McKinney R. M., Wilkinson H. W. Legionellosis. Am J Pathol. 1981 Jun;103(3):429–465. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Brenner D. J., Steigerwalt A. G., McDade J. E. Classification of the Legionnaires' disease bacterium: Legionella pneumophila, genus novum, species nova, of the family Legionellaceae, familia nova. Ann Intern Med. 1979 Apr;90(4):656–658. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-90-4-656. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Cherry W. B., Gorman G. W., Orrison L. H., Moss C. W., Steigerwalt A. G., Wilkinson H. W., Johnson S. E., McKinney R. M., Brenner D. J. Legionella jordanis: a new species of Legionella isolated from water and sewage. J Clin Microbiol. 1982 Feb;15(2):290–297. doi: 10.1128/jcm.15.2.290-297.1982. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Cherry W. B., Pittman B., Harris P. P., Hebert G. A., Thomason B. M., Thacker L., Weaver R. E. Detection of Legionnaires disease bacteria by direct immunofluorescent staining. J Clin Microbiol. 1978 Sep;8(3):329–338. doi: 10.1128/jcm.8.3.329-338.1978. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Edelstein P. H., Brenner D. J., Moss C. W., Steigerwalt A. G., Francis E. M., George W. L. Legionella wadsworthii species nova: a cause of human pneumonia. Ann Intern Med. 1982 Dec;97(6):809–813. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-97-6-809. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. England A. C., 3rd, McKinney R. M., Skaliy P., Gorman G. W. A fifth serogroup of Legionella pneumophila. Ann Intern Med. 1980 Jul;93(1):58–59. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-93-1-58. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Goding J. W. Conjugation of antibodies with fluorochromes: modifications to the standard methods. J Immunol Methods. 1976;13(3-4):215–226. doi: 10.1016/0022-1759(76)90068-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Lewallen K. R., McKinney R. M., Brenner D. J., Moss C. W., Dail D. H., Thomason B. M., Bright R. A. A newly identified bacterium phenotypically resembling, but genetically distinct from, Legionella pneumophila: an isolate in a case of pneumonia. Ann Intern Med. 1979 Dec;91(6):831–834. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-91-6-831. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. McKinney R. M., Porschen R. K., Edelstein P. H., Bissett M. L., Harris P. P., Bondell S. P., Steigerwalt A. G., Weaver R. E., Ein M. E., Lindquist D. S. Legionella longbeachae species nova, another etiologic agent of human pneumonia. Ann Intern Med. 1981 Jun;94(6):739–743. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-94-6-739. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. McKinney R. M., Thacker L., Harris P. P., Lewallen K. R., Hebert G. A., Edelstein P. H., Thomason B. M. Four serogroups of Legionnaires' disease bacteria defined by direct immunofluorescence. Ann Intern Med. 1979 Apr;90(4):621–624. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-90-4-621. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. McKinney R. M., Wilkinson H. W., Sommers H. M., Fikes B. J., Sasseville K. R., Yungbluth M. M., Wolf J. S. Legionella pneumophila serogroup six: isolation from cases of legionellosis, identification by immunofluorescence staining, and immunological response to infection. J Clin Microbiol. 1980 Sep;12(3):395–401. doi: 10.1128/jcm.12.3.395-401.1980. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Morris G. K., Steigerwalt A., Feeley J. C., Wong E. S., Martin W. T., Patton C. M., Brenner D. J. Legionella gormanii sp. nov. J Clin Microbiol. 1980 Nov;12(5):718–721. doi: 10.1128/jcm.12.5.718-721.1980. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Orrison L. H., Cherry W. B., Tyndall R. L., Fliermans C. B., Gough S. B., Lambert M. A., McDougal L. K., Bibb W. F., Brenner D. J. Legionella oakridgensis: unusual new species isolated from cooling tower water. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1983 Feb;45(2):536–545. doi: 10.1128/aem.45.2.536-545.1983. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Thomason B. M., Wells J. G. Preparation and testing of polyvalent conjugates for fluorescent-antibody detection of salmonellae. Appl Microbiol. 1971 Nov;22(5):876–884. doi: 10.1128/am.22.5.876-884.1971. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Yonke C. A., Stiefel H. E., Wentworth B. B., Wilson D. L. Prevalence of antibody to serogroups 1-4 of Legionella pneumophila: a seroepidemiologic study using the indirect hemagglutination test. Am J Epidemiol. 1982 May;115(5):633–639. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a113345. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Clinical Microbiology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES