You are more likely to get Legionnaire's Disease if you smoke; have chronic lung disease such as kidney disease or diabetes; are 50 or older; have a weakened immune system from HIV/AIDs or from specific medications; or live in a nursing home or hotel where germs can spread more easily.
LD symptoms are: muscle pain; headache; chills; fever to 104 degrees or higher; cough, sometimes up blood or mucus; have breath shortness; experience vomiting; diarrhea; nausea; have confusion or mind changes or experience chest pain.
Legionella, the bacteria for Legionnaire's Disease, is found everywhere. In bodies of water (creeks, ponds) in indoor plumbing systems (faucets) in soil, and in air-conditioning units/cooling towers. Legionella can survive outdoors in water and soil, but it won't cause disease. Inside, though, it can multiply in water.
LD is preventable if you don't smoke and use clean pools, spas and water systems.
It's treated with antibiotics, and the sooner you get them the less chance you have of death. And, this process usually requires hospitalization.
8,000 to 18,000
The Legionella bacteria makes Pontiac Fever, a milder sickness like the flu, but unlike LD, it can go away on its own. Together or separate, these two diseases are called legionellosis.
The History of Legionnaire's Disease
Within a week 130 people had been hospitalized and 25 had died, temporarily closing the Bellevue-Stradford hotel.
The scientists first thought
Scientists also though it could have been influenza, toxins or poisonous gases, or poison, but it wasn't. They were criticized for not finding the cure right away.
The CDC tested samples of the air, water, soil, and dirt from the Philadelphia hotel , but all came back negative from toxic chemicals or virus.
But on January 18, 1977, seven months after the outbreak, Dr.McDade and his investigation team found out that the virus was spread form the hotel air conditioning system and that it was a bacteria called legionella pneumonia. The disease was around before, but got its official name from the 221 hospitalized and 34 dead Legionnaires.
There have been more
For example: in March of 1999 in the Netherlands at a Wesfriese flower exhibit, 318 people got sick and 32 people died. September 2005 in Canada 127 residents in a nursing home got infected and 21 died. It was sadly spread by their air-conditioning system. And on November 12, 2014, 302 people had been hospitalized and 7 had died in an outbreak in Portugal. The source was suspected to be from the cooling towers of a fertilizer plant nearby.
As you can
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