Whole-genome sequencing for identification of the source in hospital-acquired Legionnaires' disease

A M Rosendahl Madsen; A Holm; T G Jensen; E Knudsen; H Lundgaard; M N Skov; S A Uldum; M Kemp

doi:10.1016/j.jhin.2017.04.020

Whole-genome sequencing for identification of the source in hospital-acquired Legionnaires' disease

J Hosp Infect. 2017 Aug;96(4):392-395. doi: 10.1016/j.jhin.2017.04.020. Epub 2017 Apr 27.

Authors

A M Rosendahl Madsen¹, A Holm², T G Jensen², E Knudsen², H Lundgaard², M N Skov², S A Uldum³, M Kemp²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical Microbiology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Department of Clinical Microbiology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark.
³ Statens Serum Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark.

PMID: 28622979
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhin.2017.04.020

Abstract

Acquisition of Legionnaires' disease is a serious complication of hospitalization. Rapid determination of whether or not the infection is caused by strains of Legionella pneumophila in the hospital environment is crucial to avoid further cases. This study investigated the use of whole-genome sequencing to identify the source of infection in hospital-acquired Legionnaires' disease. Phylogenetic analyses showed close relatedness between one patient isolate and a strain found in hospital water, confirming suspicion of nosocomial infection. It was found that whole-genome sequencing can be a useful tool in the investigation of hospital-acquired Legionnaires' disease.

Keywords: Legionella; Nosocomial infection; Whole-genome sequencing.

MeSH terms

Cluster Analysis
Cross Infection / microbiology*
Environmental Microbiology*
Humans
Legionella pneumophila / classification*
Legionella pneumophila / genetics
Legionella pneumophila / isolation & purification
Legionnaires' Disease / microbiology*
Molecular Epidemiology / methods*
Molecular Typing / methods*
Phylogeny
Sequence Homology
Whole Genome Sequencing / methods*