Soil as a source of Legionella pneumophila sequence type 47

Abstract

Legionella pneumophila sequence type (ST) 47 was isolated from soil in a garden. We speculate that this strain was transmitted from soil to the whirlpool in the garden where it caused an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease and Pontiac fever. In the Netherlands, ST47 is frequently isolated from patients, but hardly ever from environmental sources. It is possible that human pathogenic Legionella strains, with ST47 as one of the predominant strains, are transmitted to humans from sources such as natural soil that are currently not targeted in outbreak investigations.