Isolation of Legionella Pneumophila from Clinical & Environmental Sources in a Tertiary Care Hospital (Report‪)‬

Legionella pneumophila and other members of genus Legionella are Gram negative bacteria that are ubiquitous in both natural aquatic and moist soil environment (1,2), and in artificial aquatic habitats(3). Human infection with Legionella has two distinct forms- Legionnaires' disease, which is a severe form of infection which includes pneumonia; and Pontiac fever, a milder flu like illness without pneumonia (4). Legionellosis occurs both sporadically as well as outbreaks, in the community and also in the health care setting. It has been implicated as the second most common cause of community acquired pneumonia (5,6), while nosocomial infection affects less than 1 per cent of hospitalized patients (7,8). Though major outbreaks are most often highlighted in literature, most cases of legionellosis are likely to be sporadic in nature (9). Water is the source of both nosocomial and community acquired pneumonia. Environmental culturing of water system for Legionella species has been recommended for hospitals so that preventive measures can be initiated (10).