scholarly journals Comparison of the culture method with multiplex PCR for the confirmation of Legionella spp. and Legionella pneumophila

Author(s):  
D. Eble ◽  
V. Gehrig ◽  
P. Schubert‐Ullrich ◽  
R. Köppel ◽  
H.P. Füchslin
Pathogens ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 690 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Scaturro ◽  
Matteo Buffoni ◽  
Antonietta Girolamo ◽  
Sandra Cristino ◽  
Luna Girolamini ◽  
...  

Detection and enumeration of Legionella in water samples is of great importance for risk assessment analysis. The plate culture method is the gold standard, but has received several well-known criticisms, which have induced researchers to develop alternative methods. The purpose of this study was to compare Legionella counts obtained by the analysis of potable water samples through the plate culture method and through the IDEXX liquid culture Legiolert method. Legionella plate culture, according to ISO 11731:1998, was performed using 1 L of water. Legiolert was performed using both the 10 mL and 100 mL Legiolert protocols. Overall, 123 potable water samples were analyzed. Thirty-seven (30%) of them, positive for L. pneumophila, serogroups 1 or 2–14 by plate culture, were used for comparison with the Legiolert results. The Legiolert 10 mL test detected 34 positive samples (27.6%) and the Legiolert 100 mL test detected 37 positive samples, 27.6% and 30% respectively, out of the total samples analyzed. No significant difference was found between either the Legiolert 10 mL and Legiolert 100 mL vs. the plate culture (p = 0.9 and p = 0.3, respectively) or between the Legiolert 10 mL and Legiolert 100 mL tests (p = 0.83). This study confirms the reliability of the IDEXX Legiolert test for Legionella pneumophila detection and enumeration, as already shown in similar studies. Like the plate culture method, the Legiolert assay is also suitable for obtaining isolates for typing purposes, relevant for epidemiological investigations.


2001 ◽  
Vol 126 (3) ◽  
pp. 357-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. LU ◽  
C. L. PERNG ◽  
T. S. CHIUEH ◽  
S. Y. LEE ◽  
C. H. CHEN ◽  
...  

Ninety-three clinical isolates of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) collected from nine hospitals in Taiwan were examined for the presence of vanA, vanB, vanC1, or vanC2/vanC3 genes by a multiplex PCR. Forty-seven of these VRE isolates were vanA positive, 1 contained both vanC1 and vanA, 40 harboured vanB, 2 were vanC1, and 3 were identified to be vanC2/vanC3. Twenty-four vanA isolates were sensitive to teicoplanin and thus did not have a typical VanA phenotype. Five isolates with the VanC phenotype harboured vanB. None of the 40 clinically isolated vancomycin-susceptible E. faecium or E. faecalis and the vancomycin-resistant Leuconostoc and Pediococcus isolates were positive for any of the van genes. While performing nosocomial surveillance, VRE were isolated from 47 of 467 rectal swabs by culture. Compared with the conventional culture method, the sensitivity and specificity of the multiplex PCR for detecting and identifying vancomycin-resistance genes in enterococci directly from culture-positive broth were 97·9% and 100%, respectively. The results suggest that genotypic characterization of vancomycin-resistance is necessary for all clinical VRE isolates and that the multiplex PCR assay can be an alternative method for this purpose.


2015 ◽  
Vol 78 (5) ◽  
pp. 873-880 ◽  
Author(s):  
KAMELA CHARMAINE S. NG ◽  
WINDELL L. RIVERA

Food poisoning outbreaks and livestock mortalities caused by Salmonella enterica are widespread in the Philippines, with hogs being the most commonly recognized carriers of the pathogen. To prevent and control the occurrence of S. enterica infection in the country, methods were used in this study to isolate and rapidly detect, differentiate, and characterize S. enterica in tonsils and jejuna with jejunal lymph nodes of swine slaughtered in four locally registered meat establishments (LRMEs) and four meat establishments accredited by the National Meat Inspection Services in Metro Manila. A total of 480 samples were collected from 240 animals (120 pigs from each type of meat establishment). A significantly higher proportion of pigs were positive for S. enterica in LRMEs (60 of 120) compared with meat establishments accredited by the National Meat Inspection Services (38 of 120). More S. enterica–positive samples were found in tonsils compared with jejuna with jejunal lymph nodes in LRMEs, but this difference was not significant. A PCR assay targeting the invA gene had sensitivity that was statistically similar to that of the culture method, detecting 93 of 98 culture-confirmed samples. Multiplex PCR–based O-serogrouping and H/Sdf I typing revealed four S. enterica serogroups (B, C1, D, and E) and six serotypes (Agona, Choleraesuis, Enteritidis, Heidelberg, Typhimurium, and Weltevreden), respectively, which was confirmed by DNA sequencing of the PCR products. This study was the first to report detection of S. enterica serotype Agona in the country.


2006 ◽  
Vol 73 (5) ◽  
pp. 1452-1456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diaraf Farba Yaradou ◽  
Sylvie Hallier-Soulier ◽  
Sophie Moreau ◽  
Florence Poty ◽  
Yves Hillion ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We evaluated a ready-to-use real-time quantitative Legionella pneumophila PCR assay system by testing 136 hot-water-system samples collected from 55 sites as well as 49 cooling tower samples collected from 20 different sites, in parallel with the standard culture method. The PCR assay was reproducible and suitable for routine quantification of L. pneumophila. An acceptable correlation between PCR and culture results was obtained for sanitary hot-water samples but not for cooling tower samples. We also monitored the same L. pneumophila-contaminated cooling tower for 13 months by analyzing 104 serial samples. The culture and PCR results were extremely variable over time, but the curves were similar. The differences between the PCR and culture results did not change over time and were not affected by regular biocide treatment. This ready-to-use PCR assay for L. pneumophila quantification could permit more timely disinfection of cooling towers.


2019 ◽  
Vol 102 (4) ◽  
pp. 1235-1240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle Barrette

Abstract Background: Legionnaires’ disease is a potentially lethal pneumonia contracted through inhalation of aerosolized water contaminated with Legionella bacteria. Detection and control of L. pneumophila, the primary species responsible for the disease, is critical to public health. In Québec, cooling towers and evaporative condensers are required to follow a maintenance and testing program to ensure L. pneumophila concentrations remain at acceptable levels. Objective: This study compared a new culture method based on the most probable number approach, Legiolert®, with the formal culture method used at EnvironeX for regulatory compliance testing to quantify L. pneumophila from cooling tower waters in Québec. Methods: A split-sample analysis was performed in which 401 samples from cooling towers in Québec were tested with both methods. Results: Results with 74 positive samples showed that Legiolert provided a significant increase in sensitivity for L. pneumophila compared with the agar plate method. Cooling tower samples often contain non-Legionella flora that necessitate multiple treatment and plating conditions to prevent interference with the test. Legiolert showed little to no impact from non-Legionella organisms in this study. Conclusions: Overall, Legiolert showed several advantages over the agar plate method, including increased sensitivity, reduced interference, a simplified test procedure, and an easy-to-read positive signal.


Author(s):  
Ryota Nakaue ◽  
Tian Qin ◽  
Masatomo Morita ◽  
Hongyu Ren ◽  
Bin Chang ◽  
...  

Legionella pneumophila , which is the main cause of Legionnaires’ disease, comprises at least 15 serogroups (SGs). We show here the diversity of LPS biosynthetic loci among serogroups and describe the development of a PCR serotyping assay for 15 SGs based on the sequences of LPS biosynthetic loci. Using this multiplex-PCR (M-PCR) system, serogroup(s) were detected using primers that specifically amplify the sequences of SG1, SG2, SG5, SG7, SG8, SG9, SG11, SG13, SG3/15, and SG6/12. When PCR products of the expected sizes were not detected, we used primers that identified SG4/10/14. The PCR serotyping system specifically amplified the sequences corresponding SGs of 238 L. pneumophila strains. This method will be very useful for conducting epidemiological studies and investigating outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease.


2004 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 1651-1657 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena Aurell ◽  
Philippe Catala ◽  
Pierre Farge ◽  
France Wallet ◽  
Matthieu Le Brun ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT A new method for the rapid and sensitive detection of Legionella pneumophila in hot water systems has been developed. The method is based on an IF assay combined with detection by solid-phase cytometry. This method allowed the enumeration of L. pneumophila serogroup 1 and L. pneumophila serogroups 2 to 6, 8 to 10, and 12 to 15 in tap water samples within 3 to 4 h. The sensitivity of the method was between 10 and 100 bacteria per liter and was principally limited by the filtration capacity of membranes. The specificity of the antibody was evaluated against 15 non-Legionella strains, and no cross-reactivity was observed. When the method was applied to natural waters, direct counts of L. pneumophila were compared with the number of CFU obtained by the standard culture method. Direct counts were always higher than culturable counts, and the ratio between the two methods ranged from 1.4 to 325. Solid-phase cytometry offers a fast and sensitive alternative to the culture method for L. pneumophila screening in hot water systems.


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