Legionella pneumophila Seropositivity-Associated Factors in Latvian Blood Donors

Olga Valciņa, Daina Pūle, Irina Lucenko, Dita Krastiņa, Žanete Šteingolde, Angelika Krūmiņa and Aivars Bērziņš
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Olga Valciņa: Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment “BIOR”, Riga LV-1076, Latvia
Daina Pūle: Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment “BIOR”, Riga LV-1076, Latvia
Irina Lucenko: Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Riga LV-1005, Latvia
Dita Krastiņa: Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment “BIOR”, Riga LV-1076, Latvia
Žanete Šteingolde: Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment “BIOR”, Riga LV-1076, Latvia
Angelika Krūmiņa: Department of Infectology and Dermatology, Riga Stradiņš University, Riga LV-1007, Latvia
Aivars Bērziņš: Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment “BIOR”, Riga LV-1076, Latvia

IJERPH, 2015, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Continuous environmental exposure of humans to Legionella may induce immune responses and generation of antibodies. The aim of this study was to investigate the seroprevalence of Legionella pneumophila serogroups (SG) 1–6 in the general healthy population and identify the associated host-related and environmental risk factors. L. pneumophila SG 1–6 seroprevalence among a total of 2007 blood samples collected from healthy donors was 4.8%. Seroprevalence was higher in women (5.9%) than men (3.3%) and in areas with a larger number of inhabitants, ranging from 3.5% in rural regions to 6.8% in the capital, Riga. Blood samples from inhabitants of apartment buildings tested positive for L. pneumophila in more cases (5.8%) compared to those from inhabitants of single-family homes (2.7%). Residents of buildings with a municipal hot water supply system were more likely to be seropositive for L. pneumophila (OR = 3.16, 95% CI 1.26–7.91). Previous episodes of fever were additionally identified as a risk factor (OR = 2.42, 95% CI 1.43–4.1). In conclusion, centralized hot water supply, female gender and previous episodes of fever were determined as the main factors associated with L. pneumophila seropositivity in our study population.

Keywords: Legionella pneumophila; seroprevalence; blood donors (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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