title: Are air-conditioning maintenance personnel at increased risk of Legionellosis?
abstract: We surveyed by use of medical questionnaires and blood tests 21 maintenance workers involved with cleaning and servicing cooling towers and evaporative condensers at a large company to determine the frequency of pneumonia and antibody levels against Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1. The 21 high-risk workers were compared with 27 low-risk workers, persons who were not directly involved in service or maintenance for the company. The overall prevalence of titers greater than or equal to 128 for the 21 high-risk workers was 19.0% compared with 22.2% for the low-risk group. There were no significant differences in the history of pneumonia between these groups. Possible explanations for these findings are discussed.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000389:Air Conditioning; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007877:Legionnaires' Disease / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009518:New York; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012306:Risk; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial