Pneumonia and Acute Pancreatitis Most Probably Caused by a Legionella longbeachae Infection

Abstract

Legionella longbeachae was first described and characterized in 1981. We report the first probable case of L. longbeachae infection in Sweden. A previously healthy, 50-year-old greenhouse repairman fell ill with severe pneumonia and acute pancreatitis. The L. longbeachae type 1 IgG titer (indirect immunofluorescence) was 256 and decreased significantly with erythromycin treatment. Attempts to isolate the microorganism from the environment failed. Sera from the patient's colleagues and from blood donors all had antibody titers of less than 32.