Research advances of Legionella and Legionnaires’ disease

Abstract

Legionella is a causative agent of legionellosis or Legionnaires’ disease. Infection with Legionella spp. is an important cause of community and hospital-acquired pneumonia. Moreover, infection with Legionella is one of the most common causes of severe pneumonia in community settings, and Legionella is isolated in 40% of hospital-acquired pneumonia cases. The clinical features of legionellosis or Legionnaires’ disease are not unique, which makes the diagnosis challenging. Macrolides and fluoroquinolones are the most widely used drugs in treatment. Early recognition, treatment and effective measures for prevention and control of the disease are important and required. Although there have been a lot of methods for diagnosis of Legionella infection, they were often time-consuming or complex, not suitable for clinical purposes. This review summarizes available information regarding the microbiology, taxonomy, epidemiology, pathogenesis and diagnosis of Legionnaires’ disease, with an emphasis on the laboratory diagnosis of infection with Legionella spp.

Keywords

Legionella / Legionella pneumophila / diagnosis / Legionnaires&#8217 / disease