TY - JOUR T1 - Preliminary report on the pathogenicity of Legionella pneumophila for freshwater and soil amoebae. JF - Journal of Clinical Pathology JO - J Clin Pathol SP - 1179 LP - 1183 DO - 10.1136/jcp.33.12.1179 VL - 33 IS - 12 AU - T J Rowbotham Y1 - 1980/12/01 UR - http://jcp.bmj.com/content/33/12/1179.abstract N2 - Legionella pneumophila, the causative organism of Legionnaires' disease, is pathogenic for free living, ubiquitous, freshwater, and soil amoebae of the genera Acanthamoeba and Naegleria. Some species support the growth of strains from serogroups 1 to 6, others only strains from certain serogroups. Initial studies with seeded material indicate that amoebal enrichment could be utilised for the isolation of legionellae from clinical specimens and natural habitats. It is suggested that a vacuole, or amoeba, full of legionellae, rather than free legionellae, could be the infective particle for man. ER -