Infections caused by the Pittsburgh pneumonia agent.

Of the Legionellaceae family, Pittsburgh pneumonia agent (Tatlockia micdadei, Legionella micdadei) is second only to Legionella pneumophila in causing human pneumonia. In nosocomial infection, the patients tend to be immunosuppressed. The clinical presentation is nonspecific, although in immunosuppressed hosts the presentation may mimic that of pulmonary embolus (pleuritic chest pain, nonproductive cough, pleural-based densities on chest rontgenogram). The reservoir for the organism is water, and prevention of nosocomial infections can be accomplished by disinfection of the water supply. Diagnosis is best established by isolation of the organism from respiratory secretions by using selective, dye-containing buffered charcoal-yeast extract agar. The organisms can be acid-fast when clinical specimens are stained. Erythromycin is the antibiotic of choice, although tetracyclines, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and rifampin have also proved to be efficacious.