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Evaluation of Legiolert™ for the Detection of Legionella pneumophila and Comparison with Spread-Plate Culture and qPCR Methods

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Abstract

Legionella pneumophila, the organism responsible for Legionnaires’ disease, a potentially lethal pneumonia, is an opportunistic bacterium spread via inhalation of contaminated, aerosolized water. The detection and control of L. pneumophila is crucial to reduce the risk it poses to human health. L. pneumophila is generally detected and quantified by the plating method, ISO 11731:2017 and by qPCR. ISO 11731 is based on the filtration of the water sample through a membrane, which is placed on selective agar medium, and after colony growth, presumptive Legionella are then confirmed by subculturing, serology, or PCR. Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) is based on the amplification of a DNA sequence specific to L. pneumophila, usually within the mip gene. The objective of this study was to compare these methods to a new, liquid culture method based on the Most Probable Number (MPN) technique, Legiolert™/Quanti-Tray® with data obtained with ISO 11731 and a viability quantitative qPCR (v-qPCR), for quantification of L. pneumophila in potable and non-potable waters. Data showed that the Legiolert method revealed concentrations of L. pneumophila greater than ISO 11731 and generally similar results to those of v-qPCR. The Legiolert method was highly specific and easy to use, representing a significant advancement in the quantification of L. pneumophila from potable and non-potable waters.

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Acknowledgements

The generous contribution of IDEXX Laboratories Inc. and Iberlab in the provision of Legiolert reagents, Quanti-tray and respective sealer, and other materials is gratefully acknowledged. The work had the support of IDEXX Laboratories, Inc.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratório de Analises, Universidade Lisboa, Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon, Portugal

    Silvia N. Monteiro, Adriana M. Robalo & Ricardo J. Santos

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  1. Silvia N. Monteiro
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  2. Adriana M. Robalo
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  3. Ricardo J. Santos
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Correspondence to Ricardo J. Santos.

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Conflict of interest

A. Robalo was commissioned by IDEXX Laboratories to process the samples. S. Monteiro and R. Santos do not have any conflict of interests. All work were directed and supervised by the paper author.

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Monteiro, S.N., Robalo, A.M. & Santos, R.J. Evaluation of Legiolert™ for the Detection of Legionella pneumophila and Comparison with Spread-Plate Culture and qPCR Methods. Curr Microbiol 78, 1792–1797 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-021-02436-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-021-02436-6

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