Elsevier

Journal of Infection

Volume 24, Issue 1, January 1992, Pages 81-84, IN11, 85-86
Journal of Infection

Case report
Colonisation of the respiratory tract with Legionella pneumophila for 63 days before the onset of pneumonia

https://doi.org/10.1016/0163-4453(92)91094-RGet rights and content

Summary

We report the case of a 70-year-old man who was admitted to hospital A 66 days before developing Legionella pneumophila pneumonia 6 days after open heart surgery at hospital C. The strain of L. pneumophila recovered from the patient's sputum was of the same subtype (monoclonal antibody type, enzyme type, plasmid profile, and restriction endonuclease pattern) as a strain of L. pneumophila in the potable water supplied to the room where he stayed in hospital A. We conclude that the patient's respiratory tract became colonised by L. pneumophila while he was in hospital A and persisted for at least 63 days until he developed pneumonia requiring antibiotic treatment while in hospital C.

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