Isolation of Legionella pneumophila from the blood of a patient with Legionnaires disease.

摘要

Legionella pneumophila is rarely isolated from blood cultures. Presently most cases of Legionnaires' disease are diagnosed retrospectively from the results of indirect fluorescent antibody tests, which possess inherent disadvantages. An 81-year-old woman with a history of diabetes mellitus presented symptoms of Legionnaires' disease. Five hours before her death 1.5 mL of blood was withdrawn from a scalp vein and seeded to a culture medium. Following incubation for 3 days L. pneumophila serotype 1 was isolated.