Korean J Lab Med.  2010 Feb;30(1):28-33. 10.3343/kjlm.2010.30.1.28.

Antimicrobial Susceptibility Patterns of Legionella isolates in the Environment and in Patients

• Choi GE
• Kang JE
• Lee EY
• Chang CL
• Tateda K
• Yamaguchi
• Kim KH
• Kim JM

• KMID: 1096815
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3343/kjlm.2010.30.1.28

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Antimicrobial susceptibility of Legionella spp. has rarely been studied in Korea. Therefore, we aimed to determine the susceptibility of Legionella spp. to various antibiotics.
METHODS
We assessed the antimicrobial susceptibility of 66 environmental and clinical Legionella isolates collected between January 2001 and December 2008 from Korea and Japan. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 6 antibiotics, namely, azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, clarithromycin, clindamycin, gatifloxacin, and gemifloxacin were determined by the broth microdilution method using buffered starch yeast extract broth.
RESULTS
The MIC ranges of the 6 antibiotics used against the Legionella isolates were as follows: 0.004-0.062 microgram/mL (azithromycin), 0.002-0.5 microgram/mL (ciprofloxacin), 0.004-0.5 microgram/mL (clarithromycin), 0.12-4 microgram/mL (clindamycin), 0.002-0.12 microgram/mL (gatifloxacin), and 0.008-1 microgram/mL (gemifloxacin).
CONCLUSIONS
Legionella spp. isolates from Korea and Japan were most susceptible to gatifloxacin. Azithromycin, clarithromycin, ciprofloxacin, and gemifloxacin were also effective for treating legionellosis.

Keyword

Legionella; Antimicrobial susceptibility; Buffered starch yeast extract broth

MeSH Terms

Anti-Bacterial Agents/*pharmacology
Azithromycin/pharmacology
Ciprofloxacin/pharmacology
Clarithromycin/pharmacology
Clindamycin/pharmacology
Drug Resistance, Bacterial
Fluoroquinolones/pharmacology
Humans
Legionella/*drug effects/isolation & purification
Legionellosis/diagnosis/microbiology
Microbial Sensitivity Tests
Naphthyridines/pharmacology

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