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Microorganisms
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Clinical and Environmental Surveillance for the Prevention of Legionellosis, 2nd...
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Clinical and Environmental Surveillance for the Prevention of Legionellosis, 2nd Edition

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Public Health Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2025) | Viewed by 5418

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Maria Anna Coniglio

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Regional Reference Laboratory of Clinical and Environmental Surveillance of Legionellosis, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies G.F. Ingrassia, University of Catania, Via Sofia 87, 95123 Catania, Italy
Interests: water systems; disinfection methods; emerging technologies; Legionnaires’ disease management; Legionnaires’ disease diagnosis; Legionnaires’ disease treatment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Mohamed H Yassin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Infection Control and Infectious Diseases, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Interests: infection
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The isolation and identification of Legionella from the environment is crucial for the management of environmental and clinical prevention, as well as for epidemiological purposes and for outbreak investigations. Early clinical diagnosis and the prompt initiation of appropriate antibiotics in all patients with community-acquired or hospital-acquired legionellosis are also crucial for the management of the disease. For these reasons, it is necessary to promote clinical and environmental surveillance programmes, and to improve the diagnostic techniques and set up preventive measures. Therefore, epidemiological data combined with microbiological and clinical information can contribute to identifying the source of infection and implementing control measures.

This Special Issue plans to give an overview of the most recent advances in the field of clinical and environmental surveillance of hospital and community-acquired legionellosis. This Special Issue is aimed at providing selected contributions on advances in the environmental surveillance, clinical diagnosis, and applications of innovative monitoring methods with regard to typing and sequencing technologies.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Epidemiology management;
  • Clinical management;
  • Genomic epidemiology;
  • Remediation;
  • Controlled clinical trials for treatment;
  • Typing and sequencing technologies;
  • Diagnostic tests;
  • Differences in virulence.

Dr. Maria Anna Coniglio
Dr. Mohamed Yassin
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • water systems
  • disinfection methods
  • emerging technologies
  • Legionnaires’ disease management
  • Legionnaires’ disease diagnosis
  • Legionnaires’ disease treatment

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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7 pages, 255 KiB  
Communication
Validation of a Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification-Based Kit for the Detection of Legionella pneumophila in Environmental Samples According to ISO/TS 12869:2012
by Giorgia Caruso, Maria Anna Coniglio, Pasqualina Laganà, Teresa Fasciana, Giuseppe Arcoleo, Ignazio Arrigo, Paola Di Carlo, Mario Palermo and Anna Giammanco
Microorganisms 2024, 12(5), 961; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12050961 - 10 May 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1407
Abstract
Legionella pneumophila is a freshwater opportunistic pathogen and the leading cause of severe pneumonia known as Legionnaires’ disease. It can be found in all water systems and survives in biofilms, free-living amoebae, and a wide variety of facilities, such as air conditioning and [...] Read more.
Legionella pneumophila is a freshwater opportunistic pathogen and the leading cause of severe pneumonia known as Legionnaires’ disease. It can be found in all water systems and survives in biofilms, free-living amoebae, and a wide variety of facilities, such as air conditioning and showers in hospitals, hotels and spas. The reference cultural method allows for the isolation and identification in many days, and in addition, it does not detect viable but rather non-culturable bacteria, increasing the risk of infection. In this context, a new LAMP-based (loop-mediated isothermal amplification) kit was developed, allowing for the rapid, sensitive, and labor-saving detection of L. pneumophila. The kit, “Legionella pneumophila Glow”, was validated according to ISO/TS 12869:2012, testing sensitivity, inclusivity and exclusivity, and kit robustness. Sensitivity showed that the “Legionella pneumophila Glow” kit can detect up to 28 plasmid copies/µL. Robustness tests showed consistent results, with both contamination levels and the matrices used giving reproducible results. Furthermore, real samples were evaluated to compare the performance of the two methods. The LAMP kit “Legionella pneumophila Glow” proved a useful option for the rapid, efficient, and labor-saving screening of different typologies of water samples, offering significant advantages over the traditional method, as it is characterized by a high sensitivity, ease of use for laboratory testing, and a large reduction in analysis time, making it an asset to official controls. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Clinical and Environmental Surveillance for the Prevention of Legionellosis, 2nd Edition)

Review

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21 pages, 547 KiB  
Review
Biosensing Technologies for Detecting Legionella in Environmental Samples: A Systematic Review
by Giuseppe Andrea Screpis, Andrea Aleo, Natalia Privitera, Giuseppe Emanuele Capuano, Roberta Farina, Domenico Corso, Sebania Libertino and Maria Anna Coniglio
Microorganisms 2024, 12(9), 1855; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12091855 - 6 Sep 2024
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Abstract
The detection of Legionella in environmental samples, such as water, is crucial for public health monitoring and outbreak prevention. Although effective, traditional detection methods, including culture-based techniques and polymerase chain reaction, have limitations such as long processing times, trained operators, and the need [...] Read more.
The detection of Legionella in environmental samples, such as water, is crucial for public health monitoring and outbreak prevention. Although effective, traditional detection methods, including culture-based techniques and polymerase chain reaction, have limitations such as long processing times, trained operators, and the need for specialized laboratory equipment. Biosensing technologies offer a promising alternative due to their rapid, sensitive, cost-effectiveness, and on-site detection capabilities. To summarize the current advancements in biosensor development for detecting Legionella in environmental samples, we used ‘Legionella’ AND ‘biosensors’ NEAR ‘environmental samples’ OR ‘water’ as keywords searching through the most relevant biomedical databases for research articles. After removing duplicates and inadequate articles from the n.1268 records identified using the PRISMA methodology exclusion criteria, we selected n.65 full-text articles which suited the inclusion criteria. Different results between the studies describing the current biosensing techniques, including optical, electrochemical, magnetic, and mass-sensitive sensors were observed. For each biosensing technique, sensitivity, specificity, and detection limits were evaluated. Furthermore, the integration of nanomaterials, microfluidics, and portable devices in biosensor systems’ design were discussed, highlighting their role in enhancing detection performance. The potential challenges and future directions in the field of Legionella biosensing were also addressed, providing insights into the feasibility of implementing these technologies in routine environmental monitoring. Undoubtedly, biosensors can play a crucial role in the early detection and management of Legionella infections and outbreaks, ultimately protecting public health and safety. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Clinical and Environmental Surveillance for the Prevention of Legionellosis, 2nd Edition)
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Other

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13 pages, 2202 KiB  
Case Report
From Investigating a Case of Cellulitis to Exploring Nosocomial Infection Control of ST1 Legionella pneumophila Using Genomic Approaches
by Charlotte Michel, Fedoua Echahidi, Sammy Place, Lorenzo Filippin, Vincent Colombie, Nicolas Yin, Delphine Martiny, Olivier Vandenberg, Denis Piérard and Marie Hallin
Microorganisms 2024, 12(5), 857; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12050857 - 25 Apr 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1299
Abstract
Legionella pneumophila can cause a large panel of symptoms besides the classic pneumonia presentation. Here we present a case of fatal nosocomial cellulitis in an immunocompromised patient followed, a year later, by a second case of Legionnaires’ disease in the same ward. While [...] Read more.
Legionella pneumophila can cause a large panel of symptoms besides the classic pneumonia presentation. Here we present a case of fatal nosocomial cellulitis in an immunocompromised patient followed, a year later, by a second case of Legionnaires’ disease in the same ward. While the first case was easily assumed as nosocomial based on the date of symptom onset, the second case required clear typing results to be assigned either as nosocomial and related to the same environmental source as the first case, or community acquired. To untangle this specific question, we applied core-genome multilocus typing (MLST), whole-genome single nucleotide polymorphism and whole-genome MLST methods to a collection of 36 Belgian and 41 international sequence-type 1 (ST1) isolates using both thresholds recommended in the literature and tailored threshold based on local epidemiological data. Based on the thresholds applied to cluster isolates together, the three methods gave different results and no firm conclusion about the nosocomial setting of the second case could been drawn. Our data highlight that despite promising results in the study of outbreaks and for large-scale epidemiological investigations, next-generation sequencing typing methods applied to ST1 outbreak investigation still need standardization regarding both wet-lab protocols and bioinformatics. A deeper evaluation of the L. pneumophila evolutionary clock is also required to increase our understanding of genomic differences between isolates sampled during a clinical infection and in the environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Clinical and Environmental Surveillance for the Prevention of Legionellosis, 2nd Edition)
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