Molecular typing of Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 clinical strains isolated in Italy

AFLP analysis detected 20 different genomic profiles. SBT analysis revealed 32 different sequence types (STs) with high diversity of STs (IODSTs = 0.952) 12 of which were never described before. ST1 and ST23 were most frequently isolated as observed worldwide. A helpful analysis of data from SBT, MAb subgrouping and AFLP is provided, as well as a comparison to the Lp1 types investigated from other countries. This study describes the first Italian Lp1 strains database, providing molecular epidemiology data useful for future epidemiological investigations, especially of travel associated Legionnaires' diseases (TALD) cases, Italy being the country associated with the highest number of clusters.