Legionnaire’s Disease

1709 Words4 Pages

Legionnaires disease, characterized as a form of pneumonia, is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Legionella. Legionnaires disease accumulated its name after it spread to more than 4,000 World War II Legionnaires, as well as their family and friends, which all gathered to participate in the 58th American Legion's convention in Philadelphia, about 600 of whom were staying at the hotel this convention was being held at. The day after the convention was being hosted, a great number of the people began feeling ill. No one began to think anything of it, because the symptoms were beginning to be very similar to any other stomach flu. It wasn’t until the American Legionnaires started dying of an illness no one could figure out what was, that endless tests were completed, and Medical specialists came to a conclusion that a bacteria, Legionella, was spreading through the air conditioning vents in the convention hotel. (Legionnaires disease: A history if its discovery). This non contagious infection enters the body through contaminated bacteria into water vapor that we breathe in, affecting the bronchial tubes, and lungs. Legionnaires disease was then given it’s name in 1976, after it killed 34 people from the convention in Philadelphia.

People affected with Legionnaires disease often have signs and symptoms extremely similar to signs associated with the flu, such as muscle aches, headaches, loss of appetite, and cough. Fevers tend to get high, ranging from temperatures of 102-105 degrees. Symptoms of Legionnaires disease usually do not show up until 2-10 days after a person is infected with the bacteria, and people normally experience other symptoms such as diarrhea and stomach cramps. Pontiac Fever, also known to be associate...

... middle of paper ...

...

Edelstein, Paul H. Legionnaires Disease: History and Clinical Findings.

Legionella: Molecular Microbiology, n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2011.

http://www.open-access-biology.com/legionella/edelstein.html.

Nordqvist, Christian. "What Is Legionnaires' Disease? What Causes Legionnaires'

Disease?" Medical News Today. National Health Service , n.d. Web. 13 Dec.

2011. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/18413.php.

"Legionnaires' disease: FAQ." HC Info. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2011.

http://www.hcinfo.com/ldfaq.htm.

Legionnaires Disease, What is it? Yahoo groups, n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2011.

http://www.gatesit.com.au/legion/Legionnaires_Disease_What_is_it.htm.

"Legionnaires' disease." Mayo Clinic. N.p., 2 Aug. 2011. Web. 15 Dec. 2011.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/legionnaires-disease/DS00853.

Show More
Related

  • Valley Forge Dbq Essay

    574 Words  | 2 Pages

    In document “A” which is from various says at Valley Forge in December 23, 1777 2,898 soldiers were counted ill. Later at Valley Forge in February 1, 1778 3,989 soldiers were counted ill. Also from various sources between December and June 1,800 to 2,500 soldiers died due to illnesses. Imagine you being one of those ill soldiers in cold and snowy Philadelphia.

    Read More

  • Medicine in the Civil War

    893 Words  | 2 Pages

    Soldiers faced diseases like measles, small pox, malaria, pneumonia, camp itch, mumps, typhoid and dysentery. However, diarrhea killed more soldiers than any other illness. There were many reasons that diseases were so common for the causes of death for soldiers. Reasons include the fact that there were poor physicals before entering the army, ignorance of medical information, lack of camp hygiene, insects that carried disease, lack of clothing and shoes, troops were crowded and in close quarters and inadequate food and water.

    Read More

  • Hunting the Nightmare Bacteria

    1636 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the documentary, Hunting the Nightmare Bacteria, reporter David Hoffman investigates this new untreatable infection along two individuals and a bacterial virus within a hospital. The first individual Hoffman investigates is Addie Rerecich of Arizona, she was treated for a staph infection with antibiotics, but other complications arise. Addie had a lung transplant, she was given several different antibiotics, but her body became pan-bacteria, non-resistance to the bacteria. Addie’s life was on the edge, she had to be on life support, and finally she received new lungs. The transplant helped Addie but it would take years before could go back to normal before the infection. The second individual is David Ricci; he had his leg amputated in India after a train accident. The antibiotic treatment he received became toxic to his body increasing problems. While in India, he underwent surgery almost every day because of infections he was developing. Back in Seattle, doctors found the NDM-1 resistance gene in his body; NDM-1 gene is resistance to almost all antib...

    Read More

  • War and Influenza Epidemic

    842 Words  | 2 Pages

    Here at the Chelsea Naval Hospital, the influx of patients arriving home from the war inflicted with "battle wounds and mustard gas burns," has created a shortage of physicians and it is becoming increasingly difficult to fight this influenza. Even our own physicians are falling ill from the disease and dying within hours of its onset. Today I received a letter from Dr. Roy, a friend and fellow physician at Camp Devens, who describes a similar situation:

    Read More

  • An Essay On Clara Barton's History

    648 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the war, twice as many men died from disease and wound infection as died from a bullet in the battlefield; this was due to unsanitary and crowded conditions at the campsites. Clara cared ...

    Read More

  • Civil War Medicine

    458 Words  | 1 Pages

    Medical science had not yet discovered the importance of antiseptics in preventing infection. Water was contaminated and soldiers sometimes ate unripened or spoiled food. There weren’t always clean rags available to clean wounds. Because of frequent shortages of water, surgeons often went days without washing their hands or instruments. So now germs were passing from patient to patient.

    Read More

  • Clostridium Difficile

    2781 Words  | 6 Pages

    Among hospitalized patients around the world, Clostridium difficile is the primary source of infectious diarrhea. Previously, continuously unbalanced intestinal microbiota, usually due to antimicrobials, was deemed a precondition of developing the infection. However, recently, there have been alterations in the biology from virtually infecting the elderly population exclusively, wherein the microbiota in their guts have been interrupted by antimicrobials, to currently infecting individuals within of all age groups displaying no recent antimicrobial use. Furthermore, recent reports have confirmed critical occurrences among groups previously assumed to be of minimal risk—pregnant women, children, and individuals with no previous exposure to antimicrobials, for instance. Unfortunately, this Gram-positive, toxin-producing anaerobic bacterium is estimated to cost US critical care facilities $800 million per year at present, suggesting the need for effective measures to eliminate this nosocomial infection (Yakob, Riley, Paterson, & Clements, 2013).

    Read More

  • Legionnaire Disease Essay

    2077 Words  | 5 Pages

    Legionnaires’ disease is an infectious disease caused most often by the bacteria Legionella pneumophila (L. pneumophila). The disease resembles severe pneumonia. Legionnaires’ disease is sometimes called “Legion Fever.” It was first discovered in 1976 when there was a pneumonia outbreak among people attending a convention of the American Legion in Philidelphia. In January of 1977 the bacteria was discovered as the causative agent of the outbreak. While outbreaks receive substantial media attention, thousands of people are exposed to the bacteria each year and never have any serious signs or symptoms of the disease. The elderly, immunocompromised and smokers are the most susceptible. Most outbreaks that do occur are in the summer when water temperatures naturally rise. Fatality rate of the disease ranges from 5 to 30 percent (The Mayo Clinic, 2008).

    Read More

  • Legionella pneumophila

    700 Words  | 2 Pages

    Legionella pneumophila are gram-negative rods. They are very difficult to culture because of their complex nutrient requirements, such as cysteine, high concentrations of iron, and the use of activated charcoal agar. They survive as intracellular pathogens of either protozoa or human macrophages. They are most often found in stagnant water reservoirs like air conditioning cooling towers, whirlpool spas, humidifiers, faucets and shower heads, and are infectious when inhaled. L. pneumophila was first identified and named after the American Legion convention of 1976, held in Philadelphia, PA. 182 people became infected, and 29 died (most of which were older men or cigarette smokers). Although this organism was named in the 70’s, retrospective studies showed cases since 1943.

    Read More

  • The Origins of the Spanish Flu of 1918

    1906 Words  | 4 Pages

    A few years before 1918, in the height of the First World War, a calamity occurred that stripped the globe of at least 50 million lives. (Taubenberger, 1918) This calamity was not the death toll of the war; albeit, some individuals may argue the globalization associated with the First World War perpetuated the persistence of this calamity. This calamity was referred to the Spanish Flu of 1918, but calling this devastating pestilence the “Spanish Flu” may be a historical inaccuracy, as research and historians suggest that the likelihood of this disease originating in Spain seams greatly improbable. Despite it’s misnomer, the Spanish Flu, or its virus name H1N1, still swept across the globe passing from human to human by exhaled drops of water that contained a deadly strand of RNA wrapped with a protein casing. Individuals who were unfortunate enough to come in contact with the contents of the protein casing generally developed severe respiratory inflammation, as the Immune system’s own response towards the infected lung cells would destroy much of the lungs, thus causing the lungs to flood with fluids. Due to this flooding, pneumonia was a common cause of death for those infected with Spanish Flu. Due its genetic similarity with Avian Flu, the Spanish Flu is thought to be descended from Avian Flu which is commonly known as “Bird Flu.” (Billings,1997) The Spanish Flu of 1918 has had a larger impact in terms of global significance than any other disease has had because it was the most deadly, easily transmitted across the entire globe, and occurred in an ideal time period for a disease to happen.

    Read More

  • Legionnaires Disease Research Paper

    1690 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Legionnaires’ disease is a bacterial infection caused primarily by the species Legionella pneumophila, it was initially recognized as the cause of a 1976 outbreak of respiratory disease outbreak in Philadelphia. Legionellosis infection occurs after persons have breathed mists that come from a water source. The most recent outbreak of Legionnaires’disease is in New York City, in the Bronx, with a total of ten deaths and more than one hundred outbreaks, which were traced to a cooling tower, deaths have also been reported in Michigan, and Ohio.

    Read More

  • Is Oral Care an Effective Intervention for Reducing the Incidence of Pneumonia in Mechanically Ventilated Patients?

    695 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hospital-acquired infections (HAI) are preventable and pose a threat to hospitals and patients; increasing the cost, nominally and physically, for both. Pneumonia makes up approximately 15% of all HAI and is the leading cause of nosocomial deaths. Pneumonia is most frequently caused by bacterial microorganisms reaching the lungs by way of aspiration, inhalation or the hematogenous spread of a primary infection. There are two categories of Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia (HAP); Health-Care Associated Pneumonia (HCAP) and Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP).

    Read More

  • Smallpox

    537 Words  | 2 Pages

    Pandemics and epidemics are diseases that affect many people all over the world. They cause millions of deaths and leave many people sick. Most epidemics are contagious and spread very quickly. One kind of epidemic is the variola virus. Variola virus is most known by the name smallpox. it got it’s nickname from the small blisters that appear on the face and arms. Smallpox is believed to have originated in Egypt or Northeastern Africa about 10,000 years ago. It soon reached Asia during the middle ages and reached Europe in 700 A.D.In 18th Century Europe it killed about 400,000 people a year. In the 20th Century alone, it has killed about 300 million. This disease has also led to the downfall of the Aztec Empire and killed many royal figures from France, Russia and other countries.

    Read More

  • Smallpox

    605 Words  | 2 Pages

    Smallpox is a very dangerous and in almost every case, fatal disease. There are two types of smallpox: variola major and variola minor. Variola Major consists of four categories ordinary (this is the most common), flat, and hemorrhagic. Variola Major only has an overall fatality rate of 30%. Flat and Hemorrhagic are the two most deadly type of Variola major. Smallpox looks like a very red, puffy, and raised rash. Smallpox is an very dangerous and contagious disease that has been present throughout history until recent times (the last epidemic case of smallpox was October 26, 1977 in Somalia).

    Read More

  • Pneumonia Essay

    941 Words  | 2 Pages

    Pneumonia is a lung infection caused by bacteria, viruses, or fungi that inflame the air sacs in the lungs and can causes them to fill with fluid or pus. This can cause coughing, a build up of phlegm, difficulty breathing, fever, and chills. It is most serious if infants and young children, people over the age of 65, and those with a low immune system contract it. (Mayo Clinic Staff; Pneumonia definition)

    Read More

More about Legionnaire’s Disease

Open Document