title: Legionnaires' disease caused by Legionella longbeachae in Taiwan, 2006-2010.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to investigate the epidemiology of Legionnaires' disease (LD) caused by Legionella longbeachae in Taiwan during 2006-2010. A total of six cases were identified prospectively, accounting for 1.6% of all laboratory-confirmed LD cases and 4.4% of culture-positive LD cases. All six cases occurred between April and August. The male to female ratio was 0.5. These six LD patients had a higher median age than those with LD due to Legionella pneumophila. Four of the six patients presented with pleural effusion and five survived the infection episode. Only two patients had a potential soil contact history prior to LD onset. The patients resided in divergent geographical areas without a common exposure history. The individual genomic DNA banding patterns of the six L. longbeachae isolates analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) were unique, supporting the hypothesis that the L. longbeachae infections occurred sporadically.
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control, Taipei, Taiwan; Institute of Public Health, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Sung-Hsi
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Lei-Ron
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Tseng
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jei-Kai
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chin-Yu
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Institute of Public Health, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Internal Medicine, Heping Fuyou Branch, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yen-Tao
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Show-Chwan Memorial Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan.
authors.forename: En-Tsung
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, En Chu Kong Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chia-Sheng
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yao-Chuan
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Hsiao
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Tsai-Hung
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jui-Feng
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ming-Tsan
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jung-Jung
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Mu
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wan-Chin
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Tsung-Pei
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Tsou
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Min-Nan
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Hung
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control, Taipei, Taiwan; Center of General Education, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taipei, Taiwan. Electronic address: cschiang10@cdc.gov.tw.
authors.forename: Chuen-Sheue
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Chiang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D044128:Legionella longbeachae / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007876:Legionellosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010996:Pleural Effusion; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial
keywords: Legionella longbeachae; Legionnaires’ disease; Taiwan