title: Legionella pneumophila Seropositivity-Associated Factors in Latvian Blood Donors.
abstract: Continuous environmental exposure of humans to Legionella may induce immune responses and generation of antibodies. The aim of this study was to investigate the seroprevalence of Legionella pneumophila serogroups (SG) 1-6 in the general healthy population and identify the associated host-related and environmental risk factors. L. pneumophila SG 1-6 seroprevalence among a total of 2007 blood samples collected from healthy donors was 4.8%. Seroprevalence was higher in women (5.9%) than men (3.3%) and in areas with a larger number of inhabitants, ranging from 3.5% in rural regions to 6.8% in the capital, Riga. Blood samples from inhabitants of apartment buildings tested positive for L. pneumophila in more cases (5.8%) compared to those from inhabitants of single-family homes (2.7%). Residents of buildings with a municipal hot water supply system were more likely to be seropositive for L. pneumophila (OR = 3.16, 95% CI 1.26-7.91). Previous episodes of fever were additionally identified as a risk factor (OR = 2.42, 95% CI 1.43-4.1). In conclusion, centralized hot water supply, female gender and previous episodes of fever were determined as the main factors associated with L. pneumophila seropositivity in our study population.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment "BIOR", Riga LV-1076, Latvia. olga.valcina@bior.lv.
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Valciņa
authors.affiliation: Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment "BIOR", Riga LV-1076, Latvia. daina.pule@bior.lv.
authors.forename: Daina
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pūle
authors.affiliation: Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Riga LV-1005, Latvia. irina.lucenko@spkc.gov.lv.
authors.forename: Irina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Lucenko
authors.affiliation: Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment "BIOR", Riga LV-1076, Latvia. dita.krastina@bior.lv.
authors.forename: Dita
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Krastiņa
authors.affiliation: Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment "BIOR", Riga LV-1076, Latvia. zanete.steingolde@bior.lv.
authors.forename: Žanete
authors.initials: Ž
authors.lastname: Šteingolde
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectology and Dermatology, Riga Stradiņš University, Riga LV-1007, Latvia. angelika.krumina@rsu.lv.
authors.forename: Angelika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Krūmiņa
authors.affiliation: Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment "BIOR", Riga LV-1076, Latvia. aivars.berzins@bior.lv.
authors.forename: Aivars
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bērziņš
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001782:Blood Donors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007844:Latvia / Q000453:epidemiology; D007877:Legionnaires' Disease / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Legionella pneumophila; blood donors; seroprevalence