{"id":4437,"date":"2021-09-15T15:44:44","date_gmt":"2021-09-15T03:44:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/?page_id=4437"},"modified":"2025-05-05T14:14:20","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T02:14:20","slug":"legionella","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/for-referrers\/microbiology\/how-do-i-diagnose\/legionella\/","title":{"rendered":"Legionella"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Infection:<\/strong>  <em>Legionella<\/em> pneumonia; Legionnaire\u2019s disease; <em>Legionella<\/em> infection<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-accordion ab-block-accordion\"><details><summary class=\"ab-accordion-title\">Brief description:<\/summary><div class=\"ab-accordion-text\">\n<ul>\n<li>Common cause of community acquired pneumonia (CAP), especially in spring\/summer in NZ.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Does not respond to beta-lactam antibiotics e.g. amoxicillin.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Clinically and radiologically indistinguishable from other forms of CAP.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Increased suspicion based on: time of year, potting mix exposure, lack of response to beta-lactams.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-accordion ab-block-accordion\"><details><summary class=\"ab-accordion-title\">Did you know?<\/summary><div class=\"ab-accordion-text\">\n<p>Does not cause chronic cough or chronic respiratory symptoms. Causes acute CAP.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-accordion ab-block-accordion\"><details><summary class=\"ab-accordion-title\">Who should I test?<\/summary><div class=\"ab-accordion-text\">\n<ul>\n<li>Testing generally reserved for patients with <strong>severe CAP in hospital<\/strong>. Testing outside this should be discussed with the microbiologist.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If there is suspicion of <em>Legionella<\/em> pneumonia in community patients, in most situations empiric treatment should be considered, rather than testing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-accordion ab-block-accordion\"><details><summary class=\"ab-accordion-title\">Test of choice:<\/summary><div class=\"ab-accordion-text\">\n<p>Request <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/scg.labapps.nz\/#\/WEL\/details\/26770\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Legionella PCR<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>PCR of sputum<\/strong> or other deep respiratory sample<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Excellent <strong>specificity<\/strong> &#8211; positive result <strong>confirms<\/strong> the diagnosis<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Good <strong>sensitivity<\/strong> &#8211; negative result (if good sample) makes diagnosis <strong>unlikely<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-accordion ab-block-accordion\"><details><summary class=\"ab-accordion-title\">Tests to avoid\/specialist tests:<\/summary><div class=\"ab-accordion-text\">\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/scg.labapps.nz\/#\/WEL\/details\/27215\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Urinary antigen<\/a> \u2013 not recommended<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Poor sensitivity in the NZ context, as does not detect <em>L.longbeachae<\/em>, which is the commonest cause of Legionnaire\u2019s disease in NZ.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/scg.labapps.nz\/#\/WEL\/details\/27199\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Serology <\/a>\u2013 not recommended<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Difficult to interpret, only used as part of a Public Health investigation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Requires acute and convalescent samples several weeks apart. Cannot confirm infection in a timeframe that is useful for informing treatment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-atomic-blocks-ab-accordion ab-block-accordion\"><details><summary class=\"ab-accordion-title\">Other considerations:<\/summary><div class=\"ab-accordion-text\">\n<p><em>Legionella<\/em> pneumonia is a notifiable disease<\/p>\n<\/div><\/details><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Infection: Legionella pneumonia; Legionnaire\u2019s disease; Legionella infection","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":0,"parent":4222,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-left-sidebar.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Legionella &#8211; Awanui Labs - Wellington<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.awanuilabs.co.nz\/central\/wellington\/for-referrers\/microbiology\/how-do-i-diagnose\/legionella\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Legionella &#8211; 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