It means 36 people have now been struck down by the bug which has already caused the death of one man, with a further 44 in Edinburgh waiting for test results confirming whether they are also infected with the waterborne virus.
Of the 80 confirmed and suspected cases, 15 are in intensive care and 27 are in general wards. A further 16 cases are being treated in the community and a number of people have already been discharged from hospital.
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Genotyping Legionella pneumophila |  |  |  |
Overview of L. pneumophila
L. pneumophila is the main etiologic agent of legionellosis, a severe respiratory disease transmitted by inhalation of aqueous aerosols. L. pneumophila is an ubiquitous aquatic bacteria but also has a widespread distribution in man-made environments. Most legionellosis outbreaks are linked to contaminated hot water systems or cooling towers. Due to L. pneumophila large occurrence in both natural and artificial aquatic systems, Ceeram has been developing a powerful typing method to allow the implementation of prevention measures, to identify potential environmental sources of infection by comparing clinical and environmental isolates
What is Bacterial Typing?
A bacterial typing method is a phenotypic or genetic analysis of bacterial isolates performed to generate isolate-specific fingerprints for assessing epidemiological relatedness. This analysis is based on polymorphic phenotypic or genetic biomarkers to differentiate each individual in the entire specie.
Why typing L. pneumophila
- Reveal outbreak cases to initiate community containment measures.
- Determine the source of the contamination (hot water system or cooling tower)
- Trace the spread and source of the pathogen during nosocomial outbreaks.
- Distinguish recurrence and reinfection in a chronic patient to determine the source of infection.
- Characterize a travel-acquired legionellosis.
- Emphasize the presence/emergence of virulent strains/clones (Paris, Lorraine,…)
- Study L. pneumophila epidemiology to know its evolution and evaluate emergence conditions.
MLVA, a powerful typing method
Multi Locus VNTR Analysis (MLVA) is a PCR based typing method that relies on the inherent variability found in many regions of repetitive DNA called VNTR (Variable Number Tandem Repeat) which represent sources of genetic polymorphism. The MLVA assay for L. pneumophila examines 12 loci. Thus, each isolate is defined by a 12-digit numeric code corresponding to the number of repeats at each VNTR.
Genotyping Kit
Efficient amplification of the 12 markers in a single PCR. Required equipment: ABI sequencer to analyze the amplicons. The typing data is managed by GeneMapper (defaultly linked with ABI sequencers) to obtain the numeric code. Ceeram provides specific and adapted training sessions to help the implementation of bacterial typing in your lab.
Ceeram Solution : Service
Our Expertise Department has an automatized and standardized genotyping platform at disposal. The procedure involves three steps:
- Samples receipt (DNA or colonies on plates)
- MLVA genotyping and
- Analysis report (isolates relatedness).
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