Legionella pneumophila is a Gram-negative organism found in the natural environment. It can infect humans, setting up an infection of the pulmonary alveolar macrophages, which is now termed Legionnaire’s disease. Although there are 64 serogroups of Legionella, 70–90% of cases of pneumonia are caused by L. pneumophila serogroup 1 (SG1).
ViroStat has released two new monoclonal antibodies that react with the LPS of 11 serogroup 1 strains
tested. These antibodies can form a pair for the detection of SG1 LPS in various sources.