title: Detection of Legionella Pneumophila in Urine and Serum Specimens of Neutropenic Febrile Patients with Haematological Malignancies.
abstract: Background:Legionella pneumophila (L. pneumophila) is a gram-negative bacterium which causes ‎Legionnaires' disease as well as Pontiac fever. The Legionella infections in patients suffering from ‎neutropenia- as a common complication of cancer chemotherapy- can distribute rapidly. We ‎aimed to detect of L. pneumophila in haematological malignancy suffering patients with ‎neutropenic fever by targeting the (macrophage infectivity potentiator) mip gene.Subjects andMethods:Serum and ‎urine specimens were obtained from 80 patients and presence of mip gene of L. pneumophila in ‎specimens was investigated by PCR.Results:The L. pneumophila infection was detected in 21 (26.2%) and 38 ‎‎(47.5%) of urine and serum specimens, respectively.Conclusion:Our findings indicated that the relative high ‎prevalence of L. pneumophila in the studied patients group which show the necessity of ‎considering this microorganism in future studies from detection and treatment point of view in ‎cancer patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Islamic Azad University, North Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Nastaran
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Farzi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Zahra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Abrehdari-Tafreshi
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Omid
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Zarei
authors.affiliation: Reproductive Biotechnology Research Center, Avicenna Research Institute (ACECR), Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Leili
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chamani-Tabriz
keywords: Legionella pneumophila; Malignancy; Mip; Neutropenia