Jpn. J. Infect. Dis., 56, 101-102, 2003

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Short Communication

A Case of Nosocomial Legionella pneumophila Pneumonia

Keizo Torii, Yoshitsugu Iinuma¹, Motoshi Ichikawa², Keisuke Kato², Michio Koide³, Hisashi Baba⁴, Ryujiro Suzuki⁵ and Michio Ohta*

Department of Bacteriology and ²Department of Internal Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Nagoya, Nagoya 466-8550, ¹Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Kyoto University Hospital, Kyoto 606-8507, ³Department of Internal Medicine I, School of Medicine Ryukyu University, Okinawa 903-0215 and ⁴Department of Infectious Disease and ⁵Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Nagoya University Hospital, Nagoya 466-8550, Japan

(Received April 11, 2003. Accepted May 23, 2003)

SUMMARY: We report a case of Legionella pneumophila pneumonia in a patient with interstitial lung disease. Intensive environmental investigations revealed that a system of all- day-running bathwater was the source of infection. In this case, the concentration of L. pneumophila in the hospital bathwater was low. We therefore emphasize that even a low concentration of L. pneumophila in environmental water can cause serious infections to immunocompromised patients in a hospital.

*Corresponding author: Mailing address: Department of Bacteriology, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Nagoya, Tsuruma-cho 65, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8550, Japan. Tel: +81-52-744-2106, Fax: +81-52-744-2107, E-mail: mohta@med.nagoya-u.ac.jp

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