NOSOCOMIAL LEGIONELLOSIS IN 3 HEART-LUNG TRANSPLANT PATIENTS - CASE-REPORTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL OBSERVATIONS

Organ transplant recipients are at high risk of contracting Legionnair es' disease in a hospital environment contaminated with legionellae. T his study describes the first cases of culture-verified Legionella inf ections with an established link to potable hospital water in Denmark; three patients operated on at the Cardiopulmonary Transplant Unit, Ri gshospitalet, Copenhagen, became infected with legionellae. Environmen tal and clinical isolates of Legionella pneumophila serogroups 1 and 6 were investigated by restriction enzyme analysis and ribotyping. An i ce machine located in the kitchen of the intensive care unit was impli cated as a source of infection in two of the three cases.