Quick and easy way to detect Legionnaires disease

Dr Stacey Yong

A Monash University researcher is working on developing a simple test to check if a patient has come down with Legionnaire’s disease.

The disease, which appears like the flu, is caused by the Legionella pneumophila  bacteria and can severely affect the elderly and children. The disease kills between 2%-3% of those infected.

Researcher Dr Stacey Yong has been working on the project for several years and recently received additional funding from the Malaysian government for work on producing the test kit to detect the bacteria.

The test kit will be used to detect the bacteria in clinical and environmental samples.

She said the present test methods used include taking sputum and urine samples to detect the presence of the bacteria.

“The test kit being developed will use molecular markers to identify the bacteria and will be extremely useful in early detection of the disease,” said Dr Stacey.

Dr Stacey said the bacteria is extremely common in the urban environment, thriving in areas like air conditioning cooling towers, hot water systems and even shower heads.

“It usually affects people with a weaker immune system – such as the elderly or children. People who smoke heavily, or have weak lungs, are also susceptible.”

Dr Stacey said part of the work involves creating a genetic database of the different varieties of the bacteria around the world.

“Part of the data will be used to identify common molecular markers that can then be used in diagnosis to identify the bacteria through a simple laboratory test,” she said.

Another area in which the test kit would be extremely useful is in detecting the presence of the bacteria in environmental samples.

“We know that this bacteria is very common in the urban environment, but there is little actual data available on its prevalence.

“The test kit will make it easy to detect the presence of the bacteria in public places like air conditioner cooling towers, or showers heads in hotel rooms, and take corrective measures.”