Acute Pneumonia Caused by Clinically Isolated Legionella pneumophila Sg 1, ST 62: Host Responses and Pathologies in Mice

Abstract

Legionnaires’ disease is a severe form of lung infection caused by bacteria belonging to the genus Legionella. The disease severity depends on both host immunity and L. pneumophila virulence. The objective of this study was to describe the pathological spectrum of acute pneumonia caused by a virulent clinical isolate of L. pneumophila serogroup 1, sequence type 62. In A/JOlaHsd mice, we compared two infectious doses, namely, 104 and 106 CFU, and their impact on the mouse status, bacterial clearance, lung pathology, and blood count parameters was studied. Acute pneumonia resembling Legionnaires’ disease has been described in detail.