[Three patients with pneumonia due to Legionella associated with a sauna, a cooling tower and a caravan in The Netherlands]

Abstract

In three male patients with lower respiratory disease, aged 51, 32 and 63 years, Legionnaires' disease was diagnosed by urinary antigen test and culture of the respiratory-tract fluid. In the second patient, the bronchoalveolar fluid also contained Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae. All three patients recovered after treatment with azithromycin in the first, cefotaxime, vancomycin and levofloxacin in the second, and erythromycin and ciprofloxacin in the third, respectively. Legionella pneumophila pneumonia is clinically not clearly distinct from other pneumonias and has a high mortality rate when not treated with the proper antibiotics. For that reason, adequate and swift diagnosis is of great importance. The urinary antigen test meets both of these criteria. Still, it is advisable to use culture and serology as well if Legionnaires' disease is suspected in a patient, since the urinary antigen test has limitations. In addition, patient isolates are ofepidemiological importance for public health. By comparing available patient isolates with Legionella strains from water sources, it is possible to identify sources of infection. In 2002, based on this principle, a project was started in The Netherlands aimed at identifying sources of infection, thereby preventing outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease by swift elimination of the source. Since the start of the project, 29 sources have been identified. In the cases described above these were a sauna, a cooling tower and a caravan, respectively. In suspected cases, respiratory-tract fluid must be collected to make possible such a source investigation.