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Incrimination of an environmental source of a case of Legionnaires' disease by pyrolysis mass spectrometry

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2009

P. R. Sisson ,
R. Freeman ,
N. F. Lightfoot  and
I. R. Richardson
P. R. Sisson
Affiliation:
Regional Public Health Laboratory, Newcastle upon Tyne
R. Freeman*
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, University of Newcastle upon Tyne
N. F. Lightfoot
Affiliation:
Regional Public Health Laboratory, Newcastle upon Tyne
I. R. Richardson
Affiliation:
Regional Public Health Laboratory, Newcastle upon Tyne
*
*Dr. R. Freeman, Department of Microbiology, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Framlington Place, Newcastle upon Tyne.
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Summary

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Following a case of Legionnaires' disease Legionella pneumophila of the same serogroup was isolated from the hot water system of the hotel which had been epidemiologically implicated as the source of the infection. Pyrolysis mass spectrometry (PyMS) was used to compare 11 isolates from the hotel water sample with the patient's strain. Epidemiologically unrelated isolates, both clinical and environmental, of the same serogroup and monoclonal antibody type of L. pneumophila were included in the same analysis, together with relevant reference strains. The patient strain was shown to be indistinguishable from seven of the hotel water isolates, but clearly different from other unrelated clinical isolates, the reference strains and some of the other environmental isolates. PyMS is a rapid and cheap method for inter-strain comparison for L. pneumophila.

Type
Research Article
Information
Epidemiology & Infection , Volume 107 , Issue 1 , August 1991 , pp. 127 - 132
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

References

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