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Review
. 2022 Mar 9;11(3):370.
doi: 10.3390/antibiotics11030370.

Overview of the Clinical and Molecular Features of Legionella Pneumophila: Focus on Novel Surveillance and Diagnostic Strategies

Giuseppe Gattuso  1 , Roberta Rizzo  1 , Alessandro Lavoro  1 , Vincenzoleo Spoto  1 , Giuseppe Porciello  2 , Concetta Montagnese  2 , Diana Cinà  3   4 , Alessia Cosentino  1 , Cinzia Lombardo  1 , Maria Lina Mezzatesta  1 , Mario Salmeri  1
Affiliations
Review

Overview of the Clinical and Molecular Features of Legionella Pneumophila: Focus on Novel Surveillance and Diagnostic Strategies

Giuseppe Gattuso et al. Antibiotics (Basel). .

Abstract

Legionella pneumophila (L. pneumophila) is one of the most threatening nosocomial pathogens. The implementation of novel and more effective surveillance and diagnostic strategies is mandatory to prevent the occurrence of legionellosis outbreaks in hospital environments. On these bases, the present review is aimed to describe the main clinical and molecular features of L. pneumophila focusing attention on the latest findings on drug resistance mechanisms. In addition, a detailed description of the current guidelines for the disinfection and surveillance of the water systems is also provided. Finally, the diagnostic strategies available for the detection of Legionella spp. were critically reviewed, paying the attention to the description of the culture, serological and molecular methods as well as on the novel high-sensitive nucleic acid amplification systems, such as droplet digital PCR.

Keywords: Legionella pneumophila; antibiotic resistance; diagnostic strategies; surveillance strategies; virulence factors.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Pros (√) and cons (×) of the mainly adopted water disinfection strategies.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Advantages and pitfalls of the culture, serological and molecular methods for the diagnosis of legionellosis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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