Isolation of Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 from blood with nonsupplemented blood culture bottles.

Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 was isolated from antemortem aerobic blood culture bottles not supplemented with L-cysteine or ferric pyrophosphate and from the postmortem lung tissue of a 72-year-old man. We recommend that aerobic blood culture bottles (Johnston Laboratories, Cockeysville, Md.) of BACTEC be subcultured to an agar that supports the growth of L. pneumophila when growth indexes range from 30 to 60 but fail to increase further.