- Legionella longbeachae
Taxobox
color = lightgrey
name = "Legionella longbeachae"
regnum = Bacteria
phylum =Proteobacteria
classis = γ-proteobacteria
ordo =Legionellales
familia =Legionellaceae
genus = "Legionella "
species = "L. longbeachae"
binomial = "Legionella longbeachae"
binomial_authority = McKinney "et al." 1982"Legionella longbeachae" is one
species of the familyLegionellaceae . It is found predominantly in soil and pottingcompost . Human infection from "L. longbeachae" is particularly common inWestern Australia ,cite journal | author=Alli OA, Zink S, von Lackum NK, Abu-Kwaik Y | title=Comparative assessment of virulence traits in "Legionella" spp | journal=Microbiology | year=2003 | pages=631–41 | volume=149 | issue=Pt 3 | pmid=12634332 | doi=10.1099/mic.0.25980-0 ] ,cite journal | author=Grove DI, Lawson PJ, Burgess JS, Moran JL, O'Fathartaigh MS, Winslow WE | title=An outbreak of "Legionella longbeachae" infection in an intensive care unit? | journal=J Hosp Infect | year=2002 | pages=250–8 | volume=52 | issue=4 | pmid=12473468 | doi=10.1053/jhin.2002.1322 ] yet cases have been documented in other countries including theUSA .cite journal | author= | title=Legionnaires' Disease associated with potting soil--California, Oregon, and Washington, May-June 2000 | journal=MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep | year=2000 | pages=777–8 | volume=49 | issue=34 | pmid=10987244 [http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4934a1.htm fulltext] ]Like other "
Legionella " species, person-to-person transmission has not been documented. However, unlike other species the primary transmission mode is inhalation of dust from contaminated compost or soil that contains theorganism causinglegionellosis .cite journal | author=Steele TW, Lanser J, Sangster N | title=Isolation of "Legionella longbeachae" serogroup 1 from potting mixes | journal=Appl Environ Microbiol | year=1990 | pages=49–53 | volume=56 | issue=1 | pmid=1968736 ]Compost
Compost must be handled with care, damp down with water to reduce dust before handling, use a face mask covering nose and mouth to reduce the risk of inhaling the dust, especially for those at high risk from infection.
It is noteworthy that compost packaging in
Australia has a "L. longbeachae" warning label.References
External links
* [http://www.dhhs.tas.gov.au/healthyliving/factsheet.php?id=759 Tasmanian Health and Human Services "Legionella" page]
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