Why is endotoxin not a virulence factor for Legionella since it is a gram-negative bacterium? I work in a biotech company and develop assays for endotoxin detection. I am thinking of using endotoxin detection as a method for environmental monitoring (not for diagnosis).
No clinical evidence has suggested the possibility of endotoxin-mediated disease in humans. Endotoxin is not used for diagnosis and is not a virulence factor for Legionella A murine model showed that mortality was not related to endotoxin production (Pastoris MC, J Med Microbiol Aug 1997;46:647-655).