Alexandropoulou Ioanna G, Konstantinidis Theocharis G, Parasidis Theodoros A, Nikolaidis Christos, Panopoulou Maria, Constantinidis Theodoros C
From the Regional Public Health Laboratory (East Macedonia-Thrace), Hellenic Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
Scand J Infect Dis. 2013 Dec;45(12):948-52. doi: 10.3109/00365548.2013.840917. Epub 2013 Oct 7.
Recent findings have identified professional drivers as being at an increased risk of Legionnaires' disease. Our hypothesis was that used car cabin air filters represent a reservoir of Legionella bacteria, and thus a potential pathway for contamination. We analysed used cabin air filters from various types of car. The filters were analysed by culture and by molecular methods. Our findings indicated that almost a third of air filters were colonized with Legionella pneumophila. Here, we present the first finding of Legionella spp. in used car cabin air filters. Further investigations are needed in order to confirm this exposure pathway. The presence of Legionella bacteria in used cabin air filters may have been an unknown source of infection until now.
最近的研究发现，职业司机感染军团病的风险有所增加。我们的假设是，二手车车厢空气滤清器是军团菌的一个储存库，因此是一个潜在的污染途径。我们分析了来自各种类型汽车的用过的车厢空气滤清器。通过培养和分子方法对滤清器进行了分析。我们的研究结果表明，近三分之一的空气滤清器被嗜肺军团菌定植。在此，我们首次在二手车车厢空气滤清器中发现了军团菌属。为了证实这种暴露途径，还需要进一步调查。到目前为止，用过的车厢空气滤清器中存在军团菌可能一直是一个未知的感染源。
