Testsealabs Legionella Pneumophila Antigen Test (Urine)

Legionnaires pneumophila is a serious form of pneumonia that carries with it a mortality rate in the order of 10%—15% in otherwise healthy individuals. Symptoms include a flu-like illness, followed by a dry cough and frequently progress to pneumonia. Approximately 30% of people infected may also present with diarrhoea and vomiting and around 50% may show signs of mental confusion. The incubation period normally ranges from 2-10 days with 3-6 days the typical illness onset time after exposure. Legionnaires’ disease may present as an outbreak of two or more cases following a limited temporal and spatial exposure to a single source, as a series of independent cases in an area in which it is highly endemic or as sporadic cases without any obvious temporal or geographical grouping. Outbreaks have occurred repeatedly in buildings such as hotels and hospitals. The Legionella Pneumophila Antigen Test allows for early diagnosis of legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 infection through detection of a specific soluble antigen present in the urine of patients with legionnaires’ disease. Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 antigen has been detected in urine as early as three days after the onset of symptoms. The test is rapid, giving a result within 15 minutes, and utilizes a urine specimen which is convenient for collection, transport, and subsequent detection of early, as well as later, stages of disease.