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Intracellular multiplication ofLegionella pneumophila in amoebae isolated from hospital hot water tanks

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Abstract

We studied the ability ofLegionella to multiply in potable water samples obtained from investigations of nosocomial legionellosis. AutochthonousLegionella multiplied in three of 14 hospital water samples after incubation at 35°C and 42°C. All three samples were from hot water tanks. Multiplication did not occur when a selected sample was filtered through a 0.45-μm membrane and reinoculated with indigenousLegionella. We isolated bothLegionella pneumophila and one or more species of free-living amoebae, primarity members of theHartmannellidae, from each of these hot water tank samples. Amoebae from a total of six hot water tank samples were used for cocultivation studies withL. pneumophila. All amoebae supported multiplication ofLegionella in coculture at 35°C. Four of six isolates of amoebae supported multiplication oflegionella at 42°C, while none supported multiplication at 45°C. Gimenez staining and electron microscopy showed thatLegionella multiplied intracellularly in amoebae. Control of these amoebae in potable water may prevent colonization and multiplication ofLegionella in domestic hot water systems.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Respiratory Diseases Branch, Division of Bacterial Diseases, Center for Infectious Disease, 30333, Atlanta, Georgia

    Barry S. Fields, Gary N. Sanden, James M. Barbaree & William E. Morrill

  2. Experimental Pathology Branch, Division of Host Factors, Centers for Disease Control, 30333, Atlanta, Georgia

    Elizabeth H. White

  3. Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburg, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania

    Robert M. Wadowsky

  4. Pathogen Control Associates, 4962 Green Oak Drive, Lilburn, Georgia

    James C. Feeley

Authors
  1. Barry S. Fields
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  2. Gary N. Sanden
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  3. James M. Barbaree
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  4. William E. Morrill
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  5. Robert M. Wadowsky
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  6. Elizabeth H. White
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  7. James C. Feeley
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Fields, B.S., Sanden, G.N., Barbaree, J.M. et al. Intracellular multiplication ofLegionella pneumophila in amoebae isolated from hospital hot water tanks. Current Microbiology 18, 131–137 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01570838

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01570838

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