Detection of Legionella Species in Bronchial Fluid by PCR

Patients suffering from Legionnaire’s disease initially experience nonspecific symptoms such as fever, myalgia, and headache. The predominant clinical finding is pneumonia with symptoms ranging from a mild cough and slight fever to diffuse pulmonary infiltrates and multiorgan failure. The disease is caused by infection with Legionella , and since the outbreak of Legionnaire’s disease in Philadelphia in 1976, resulting in 34 deaths among 221 cases (1 ), Legionella pneumophila has been established as an important cause of atypical pneumonia (2 ).