Use of monoclonal antibodies in the diagnosis and epidemiologic studies of legionellosis.

The routine use of monoclonal antibodies against L. pneumophila and other Legionellaceae has not yet reached the clinical microbiology laboratory. Most of these antibodies are still under evaluation and are not available commercially. However, it is obvious that some of them will be available in the next few years. Because of the numerous subtypes and serogroups of L. pneumophila already identified, extreme caution must be used before they are adopted routinely by a given laboratory. Testing against a large number of strains will have to be performed, and even then unidentified subtypes may not be recognized. Monoclonal antibodies against species-specific antigens of Legionella may prove to be the most useful for routine work, but once again a large number of strains will have to be tested before they are adopted. Under certain circumstances and especially in epidemiologic studies, well-chosen anti-L. pneumophila serogroup 1 monoclonal antibodies that define different subtypes may prove to be invaluable. This is currently the area in which the use of monoclonal antibodies against L. pneumophila is best defined.