Legionnaires' Disease

Legionnaires' disease is a clinical syndrome caused by Legionella. The disease was named after the outbreak of the Veterans Conference in Philadelphia in 1976. Pathogens mainly come from soil and sewage, spread by the air, and invade the respiratory tract. According to the 2007 World Health Organization guidelines, Legionnaires’ disease is divided into three subtypes: the first one is Legionella pneumonia (LD), a Legionella infection with pneumonia as the main clinical manifestation. The second one is the extrapulmonary syndrome, where the infection spreads from the lungs to other extrapulmonary systems. The third one is Pontiac fever, which is mainly manifested as an acute fever with a self-limited course. The main pathogen of Legionnaires' disease is Legionella pneumophila serotype 1. The disease affects more men than women, and the elderly, smokers, alcoholics, and people with weakened immune systems are susceptible to this disease.

Diagnosis of Legionnaires's Disease

There are two main methods for the diagnosis of Legionnaires' disease:

• X-ray examination. This examination can check the changes in alveoli and lung parenchyma in detail. After the occurrence of Legionella pneumonia, X-ray can clearly show alveolar infiltration, accompanied by pleural effusion. In severe cases, lung cavities and lung abscess may also appear. Early-stage patients have no obvious lung characteristics, and the disease cannot be diagnosed by X-ray examinations. Therefore, other examinations are necessary to facilitate the diagnosis.
• Pathogen detection. It is the primary measure to diagnose Legionnaires' disease. Blood, urine, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid or other specimens are used to detect Legionella immunofluorescence antibodies and gene probes. This test is of great value in the diagnosis of Legionnaires' disease. Once legionella infection and typical physical symptoms are detected, we can diagnose the disease directly.

Advantages of Our Products

The Legionnaires' disease diagnostic products are mostly detection kits, which adopt rapid immunochromatographic methods to qualitatively detect the Legionella pneumophila serotype 1 antigen in the sample. Our kits can be used to assist the presumptive diagnosis of Legionella infection caused by Legionella pneumophila serotype 1, and to monitor the effectiveness of targeted therapy. Speed, convenience, efficiency and sensitivity are the advantages of our products.

Creative Biogene's skilled scientists have extensive experience in developing diagnostic products for Legionnaires’ disease. Our products are competitive in the market due to their reasonable price and high quality, which can help you solve the diagnosis problem quickly. We look forward to working with you for your cooperation.

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Reference

1. Botelho E, et al. (2016). "Prospective evaluation of RT-PCR on sputum versus culture, urinary antigens and serology for Legionnaires' disease diagnosis." Journal of Infection. 73.2:123-128.