• I A Sampson.
• Serology Section, Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre, Nedlands, WA.
• Med. J. Aust. 1988 Jan 4; 148 (1): 161916-9.

AbstractThree hundred and sixty-two sera were examined by the Legionella pneumophila indirect fluorescent antibody test, with serogroups 1 to 6 as antigens. Three age- and sex-matched population groups were tested: 200 non-aborigines from Perth; 100 aborigines from the Kimberley region; and 62 aborigines from Jiggalong Mission in the Pilbara region. Each population group was composed of 50% male and 50% female subjects, all within the age range of 20 to 40 years. The seropositivity rate for serogroup 1 (Philadelphia) was 13% for the Perth population group, 26% for the Kimberley group and 35.5% for the Jiggalong group. Seropositivity rates with the other 5 serogroups for the Perth population group were as follows: serogroup 2, 1%; serogroup 3, 5%; serogroup 4, 3%; serogroup 5, 3%; and serogroup 6, 9.5%. In both of the aboriginal population groups more subjects were seropositive to serogroups 3 and 5 than to serogroup 1. Multiple serogroup specificities and the occurrence of high titres were more common among the aboriginal groups. These findings indicate that there is considerable variation in the prevalence of L. pneumophila antibodies among ecologically distinct groups within Western Australia.

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