Legionella pneumophila: A Microorganism with Thousand Faces, 2nd Edition

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2024) | Viewed by 1320

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialities, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy
Interests: microbiology; infection; MDR; H. pylori; L. pneumophila
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is a continuation of our previous Special Issue, titled “Legionella pneumophila: A Microorganism with a Thousand Faces

Legionella pneumophila is naturally found in fresh water, where bacteria parasitize within protozoa. It also lives planktonically in water or biofilms. The pathogenesis of Legionnaires’ disease is largely related to the ability of L. pneumophila to invade and grow within macrophages. In recent times, a prodigious number of bacterial virulence factors, which affect the growth of L. pneumophila in both macrophages and protozoa, have been recognized. While L. pneumophila replicates within environmental protozoa, its colonization and persistence within its natural environment are mediated by biofilm formation and colonization within multispecies microbial communities. There is now evidence that some legionellosis outbreaks are correlated with the presence of biofilms. Thus, preventing biofilm formation appears to be one of the optimal strategies available for reducing water system contamination. This Special Issue will focus on epidemiological data and experimental evidence, as well as possible mechanisms of L. pneumophila and host factors involved in causing Legionnaires’ disease. Finally, it will review the known mechanisms of biofilm formation, as well as old and new anti-biofilm substances.

Dr. Teresa Fasciana
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Legionella pneumophila
  • virulence factors
  • biofilm
  • disinfection strategy

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 6889 KiB  
Article
Legionella in Primary School Hot Water Systems from Two Municipalities in the Danish Capital Region
by Niss Skov Nielsen, Peter Fojan, Rasmus Lund Jensen, Haseebullah Wahedi and Alireza Afshari
Microorganisms 2024, 12(10), 2074; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12102074 - 16 Oct 2024
Viewed by 360
Abstract
Legionella contamination in public water systems poses significant health risks, particularly in schools where vulnerable populations, including children, regularly use these facilities. This study investigates the presence of Legionella in the hot water systems from 49 primary schools across two municipalities in the [...] Read more.
Legionella contamination in public water systems poses significant health risks, particularly in schools where vulnerable populations, including children, regularly use these facilities. This study investigates the presence of Legionella in the hot water systems from 49 primary schools across two municipalities in the Danish capital region. Water samples were collected from taps in each school, and both first-flush and stabile temperature samples were analysed for Legionella contents. The findings revealed that 97% of schools in Municipality 1 and 100% in Municipality 2 had Legionella in their hot water systems. The content of Legionella colonies was significantly higher in schools in Municipality 1, which was probably because of overall lower water temperatures. At stabile temperatures, 76% and 50% of the schools in the two municipalities exceeded the European Union’s recommended limit of 1000 CFU/L. Stabile peripheral water temperatures were achieved after 3 min. Tap water temperatures above 54 °C and central tank temperatures above 59 °C were associated with Legionella contents below 1000 CFU/L. This study highlights the need for more stringent Legionella control procedures in schools, including higher water temperatures and refining Legionella reducing interventions with the addition of regular flow and draining procedures. Full article
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11 pages, 1710 KiB  
Article
Characterisation of Legionella Clinical Isolates in Spain from 2012 to 2022
by Juana María González-Rubio, Almudena Cascajero, Beatriz Baladrón and Fernando González-Camacho
Microorganisms 2024, 12(7), 1253; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12071253 - 21 Jun 2024
Viewed by 687
Abstract
Although cases of Legionnaires’ disease are notifiable, data on the phenotypic and genotypic characterisation of clinical isolates are limited. This retrospective study aims to report the results of the characterisation of Legionella clinical isolates in Spain from 2012 to 2022. Monoclonal antibodies from [...] Read more.
Although cases of Legionnaires’ disease are notifiable, data on the phenotypic and genotypic characterisation of clinical isolates are limited. This retrospective study aims to report the results of the characterisation of Legionella clinical isolates in Spain from 2012 to 2022. Monoclonal antibodies from the Dresden panel were used for phenotypic identification of Legionella pneumophila. Genotypic characterisation and sequence type assignment were performed using the Sequence-Based Typing scheme. Of the 1184 samples, 569 were identified as Legionella by culture. Of these, 561 were identified as L. pneumophila, of which 521 were serogroup 1. The most common subgroups were Philadelphia (n = 107) and Knoxville (n = 106). The SBT analysis revealed 130 different STs, with the most common genotypes being ST1 (n = 87), ST23 (n = 57), ST20 (n = 30), and ST42 (n = 29). Knoxville has the highest variability with 32 different STs. ST23 is mainly found in Allentown/France (n = 46) and ST42 in Benidorm (n = 18), whereas ST1 is widely distributed. The results demonstrate that clinical isolates show high genetic diversity, although only a few sequence types (STs) are responsible for most cases. However, outbreaks can also occur with rare genotypes. More data on LD and associated epidemiological studies are needed to establish the risk of an isolate causing outbreak in the future. Full article
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