Seroepidemological investigation of antibodies to Legionella species in 500 healthy individuals from a single geographical location in Korea was conducted by indirect fluorescent antibody assay (IFA). Considering an antibody titer of ≥1:128 as positive reaction, 15.2% of total sera were positive. In males and females older than 40 years old, levels of IgM and IgG were 1.2% and 14%, respectively. The sera with antibody titers of ≥1:128 to Legionella species accounted for 85 sera, and 9 sera of these were reacted to more than one Legionella species. Reactivity to L. bozemanii, L. micdadei, L. longbeachae, L. pneumophila sg 6, and L. gormanii were 32.9%, 20%, 15%, 10.6%, and 8%, respectively. However, L. pneumophila sg 1, sg 2, and sg 3 did
not react to any sera. Serological analysis revealed that the level of antibody in response to L. bozemanii was more prevalent than L. pneumophila. Our results suggest that the antibodies of non-L. pneumophila species, such as L. bozemanii, may be highly prevalent in healthy population within Korea. Although conclusions
based on the findings of this study must be cautiously considered given that the population sampled were sourced from a single province, we have added to the knowledge base of serodiagnosis of infections due to non-L. pneumophila species in Korea.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Legionnaires’ Disease Surveillance and Public Health Policies in Italy: A Mathematical Model for Assessing Prevention Strategies Vincenzo Romano Spica, Paola Borella, Agnese Bruno, Cristian Carboni, Martin Exner, Philippe Hartemann, Gianluca Gianfranceschi, Pasqualina Laganà, Antonella Mansi, Maria Teresa Montagna, Osvalda De Giglio, Serena Platania, Caterina Rizzo, Alberto Spotti, Water.2024; 16(15): 2167. CrossRef
Legionellosis Caused by Non-Legionella pneumophila Species, with a Focus on Legionella longbeachae Stephen T. Chambers, Sandy Slow, Amy Scott-Thomas, David R. Murdoch Microorganisms.2021; 9(2): 291. CrossRef
Review Global seroprevalence of legionellosis - a systematic review and meta-analysis Frances F. Graham, Simon Hales, Paul S. White, Michael G. Baker Scientific Reports.2020;[Epub] CrossRef
Legionella and legionellosis in touristic-recreational facilities: Influence of climate factors and geostatistical analysis in Southern Italy (2001–2017) Osvalda De Giglio, Fabrizio Fasano, Giusy Diella, Marco Lopuzzo, Christian Napoli, Francesca Apollonio, Silvia Brigida, Carla Calia, Carmen Campanale, Angelo Marzella, Chrysovalentinos Pousis, Serafina Rutigliano, Francesco Triggiano, Giuseppina Caggiano, Environmental Research.2019; 178: 108721. CrossRef
Evaluation of the prevalence of Legionella pneumophila in Iranian clinical samples: A systematic review and meta-analysis Azad Khaledi, Seyed-Alireza Esmaeili, Hossein Vazini, Pezhman Karami, Afsane Bahrami, Amirhossein Sahebkar Microbial Pathogenesis.2019; 129: 93. CrossRef
Current and Emerging Legionella Diagnostics for Laboratory and Outbreak Investigations Jeffrey W. Mercante, Jonas M. Winchell Clinical Microbiology Reviews.2015; 28(1): 95. CrossRef
Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment on Legionella Infection in Children Playing in Interactive Fountains In-Sup Lee, Young-Gun Zo The Korean Journal of Microbiology.2013; 49(4): 360. CrossRef
An Epidemiological Survey on Serological Diagnosis ofLegionnellaInfection in Seoul, Korea Yong-Tae Yoon, Chang-Ho Han, Sung-Sun Choi, Jung-Mi Lee, Chang-Kyu Kim, Sung-Min Choi Journal of Bacteriology and Virology.2013; 43(2): 140. CrossRef