BACKGROUND: Because of the ubiquity of Legionella species in aquatic environments, molecular epidemiological analysis of Legionella isolates is important in investigation for source of infection and subsequent control of nosocomial legionellosis. In association with an unusual cluster of nosocomial pneumonia with Legionella in a tertiary-care hospital, we performed an environmental surveillance with molecular epidemiological study of Legionella isolates. METHODS: We randomly collected 20 samples of environmental and portable water from the hospital where three cases of Legionella pneumonia occurred consecutively during the period of 5 months. We detected Legionella from the samples by using both culture and polymerase chain reaction(PCR), and analyzed Legionella isolates from patients and environmental samples together with 12 reference strains by ribotyping using HpaI and EcoRI. RESULTS: Legionella was isolated from 3 out of 20(15%) samples by culture, and detected in 9 of 20(45%) by PCR. Ribotyping analysis showed that 2 patients' and 2 environmental isolates from a faucet of the patient's room and an air handling unit shared the same pattern which was also identical to that of Legionella pneumophila serogroup 6, a reference strain. CONCLUSION: The study showed that the hospital environments were contaminated with at least 2 Legionella species including L. pneumophila serogroup 6, and indicated that an unusual cluster of Legionella pneumonia occurred in the hospital was possibly linked to the contamination of a faucet with L. pneumophila serogroup 6.
Environmental Monitoring ; Epidemiologic Studies* ; Humans ; Legionella pneumophila ; Legionella* ; Legionellosis ; Pneumonia* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Ribotyping ; Water

Primary extranodal non-Hodgkin's lymphomas comprise approximately 10% of all non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. However, primary tracheal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is extremely rare, being mainly mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma. A 65-year-old female has dry cough for one year. She was diagnosed as diffuse large B-cell lymphoma via bronchoscopic-guided biopsy. She was treated with four cycles of the R-CHOP regimen and adjuvant radiotherapy. After completion of the combined treatment, the treatment response was complete remission, and the disease free survival was 26 months.
Aged* ; B-Lymphocytes* ; Biopsy ; Cough ; Disease-Free Survival ; Female* ; Humans ; Lymphoma* ; Lymphoma, B-Cell* ; Lymphoma, B-Cell, Marginal Zone ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin ; Radiotherapy, Adjuvant