Legionella-induced suppurative cervical lymphadenitis in a child diagnosed by metagenomic next-generation sequencing: a case report

<i>Legionella pneumophila</i>, primarily associated with respiratory infections, rarely causes extrapulmonary disease. Conventional diagnostic methods for <i>Legionella</i> are often limited. Here we report a case of suppurative cervical lymphadenitis caused by <i>L. pneumophila</i>. And we highlight the critical role of mNGS in enabling rapid and accurate pathogen identification, guiding effective targeted therapy for rare and challenging infections.