Legionella is a pathogenic group of Gram-negative bacteria that includes Legionella pneumophila, causing legionellosis and a mild flu-like illness called Pontiac fever. Legionella species typically exist in nature at low concentrations in groundwater, lakes and streams. The most common source of outbreaks are cooling towers primarily because of the risk for widespread circulation. Upon inhalation, the bacteria can infect alveolar macrophages, subverting the normal host cell machinery to create a niche where the bacteria can replicate. Legionella transmission is mostly via inhalation of water droplets. Once inside a host, incubation may take up to two weeks. First symptoms are flu-like, including fever, chills, and dry cough. Advanced stages of the disease cause problems with the gastrointestinal tract and the nervous system and lead to diarrhea and nausea.
R-DiaLegTM is a trusted and easy-to-use molecular diagnostic CE-IVD kit designed to qualitatively detect Legionella species and Legionella pneumophila in biological samples (bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, nasopharyngeal aspirates/swabs) collected from potentially infected patients using real-time PCR.
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