What is the issue for NSW?
NSW has been affected by increasing number of cases of legionellosis disease (also known as legionnaires’ disease), possibly associated with increasing reliance on air conditioning systems in metropolitan areas. Both national and NSW data indicate that a significant proportion of cases occurred following exposures to aerosols produced by cooling towers in densely populated areas contaminated by Legionella bacteria.
However, the main methods of laboratory diagnosis for this infection do not sufficiently support epidemiological investigations essential for outbreak detection and response. The methods of linking human cases to environmental sources remain underdeveloped and require synthesis of data from different agencies.
The NSW Government has been reviewing the impact of recent changes in legislation for the cooling water systems on rates of legionellosis. Health Protection NSW and Public Health Units are the two parts of NSW Health responsible for regulating cooling water systems and investigation of legionella disease diagnosed by pathology service providers.
What does the research aim to do and how?
The hypothesis for this project is that the use of rapid sequencing of Legionella bacteria directly from clinical samples can add significant value to conventional Legionella culture-based testing and will enhance NSW capacity to identify and respond to Legionella outbreaks in a timely fashion.
This research project seeks to address two specific aims:
- Developing and optimising a culture-independent workflow for rapid genomic analysis of Legionella pneumophila from clinical samples, and
- Providing evidence for a proof-of-concept for state-wide implementation of Legionella
The research team will establish the system which allows timely and highly accurate analysis of Legionella bacteria genomes and linkage of clinical cases to potential environmental sources for public health investigations. This project is delivered by the collaboration between NSW Health Pathology Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research (ICPMR), Centre for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology-Public Health, Western Sydney Local Health District and Sydney Infectious Diseases Institute of the University of Sydney.