Skip to main content
Journal of Clinical Microbiology logoLink to Journal of Clinical Microbiology
. 1983 Nov;18(5):1108–1112. doi: 10.1128/jcm.18.5.1108-1112.1983

Oropharyngeal colonization with Legionella pneumophila.

J A Bridge, P H Edelstein
PMCID: PMC272850  PMID: 6358250

Abstract

A total of 186 volunteers, including 40 hospital patients, participated in a cross-sectional survey of oropharyngeal colonization with Legionella pneumophila. Colonization was defined as the appearance of any L. pneumophila organisms on culture or a positive direct fluorescent-antibody (FA) test or both in the absence of signs or symptoms of pneumonia. The direct FA tests were performed on throat swabs, using a polyvalent conjugate directed against L. pneumophila serogroups I through IV. Throat swabs were cultured for L. pneumophila on a selective medium. Blood specimens were tested for antibody, using an indirect FA test and heat-killed polyvalent antigen for L. pneumophila serogroups I through IV. Eight people, none of whom had pneumonia or fever, had positive direct FA tests; no subject had a positive culture for L. pneumophila. Whether the positive direct FA results represent colonization cannot be stated with assurance. In any case, the results suggest that colonization occurs infrequently.

Full text

PDF
1108

Selected References

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

  1. 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]
  2. Edelstein P. H. Comparative study of selective media for isolation of Legionella pneumophila from potable water. J Clin Microbiol. 1982 Oct;16(4):697–699. doi: 10.1128/jcm.16.4.697-699.1982. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Edelstein P. H. Improved semiselective medium for isolation of Legionella pneumophila from contaminated clinical and environmental specimens. J Clin Microbiol. 1981 Sep;14(3):298–303. doi: 10.1128/jcm.14.3.298-303.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Edelstein P. H., McKinney R. M., Meyer R. D., Edelstein M. A., Krause C. J., Finegold S. M. Immunologic diagnosis of Legionnaires' disease: cross-reactions with anaerobic and microaerophilic organisms and infections caused by them. J Infect Dis. 1980 May;141(5):652–655. doi: 10.1093/infdis/141.5.652. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Edelstein P. H., Meyer R. D., Finegold S. M. Laboratory diagnosis of Legionnaires' disease. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1980 Feb;121(2):317–327. doi: 10.1164/arrd.1980.121.2.317. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Fallon R. J., Abraham W. H. Polyvalent heat-killed antigen for the diagnosis of infection with Legionella pneumophila. J Clin Pathol. 1982 Apr;35(4):434–438. doi: 10.1136/jcp.35.4.434. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Feeley J. C., Gibson R. J., Gorman G. W., Langford N. C., Rasheed J. K., Mackel D. C., Baine W. B. Charcoal-yeast extract agar: primary isolation medium for Legionella pneumophila. J Clin Microbiol. 1979 Oct;10(4):437–441. doi: 10.1128/jcm.10.4.437-441.1979. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Flesher A. R., Kasper D. L., Modern P. A., Mason E. O., Jr Legionella pneumophila: growth inhibition by human pharyngeal flora. J Infect Dis. 1980 Sep;142(3):313–317. doi: 10.1093/infdis/142.3.313. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Osterholm M. T., Chin T. D., Osborne D. O., Dull H. B., Dean A. G., Fraser D. W., Hayes P. S., Hall W. N. A 1957 outbreak of Legionnaires' disease associated with a meat packing plant. Am J Epidemiol. 1983 Jan;117(1):60–67. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a113516. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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

RESOURCES