Background and Aims: Legionnaires’ disease is seen in sporadic and epidemic form. The most prevalent cause is Legionella pnuemophilia (L.pneumophila), which produces a severe disease in vulnerable individuals with a high fatality rate. This study was conducted due to the wide and universal distribution of the Legionnaires’ disease, lack of conventional and accessible diagnostic meth...

Legionnaires’ disease caused by the bacteria Legionella pneumophila, is considered a type of atypical pneumonia. The usually presents with dyspnea, cough, fever, muscle aches, headache, nausea, and vomiting. A milder form (Pontiac fever) flu-like illness also exists. In addition to lung infection, extrapulmonary manifestations might occur including sepsis, rhabdomyolysis, neurological impairmen...

Introduction Pneumothorax as a complication of pneumonia is more likely to occur with those infections associated with cavitation and abscess formation. Presumably rupture of a pneumatocele or abscess into the pleural space is the mechanism of production of the pneumothorax. Organisms most commonly associated with this condition include Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Meyerson, 1948) and Staphyloco...

STUDY OBJECTIVES To compare the outcome of Legionnaires disease (LD) in patients with and without HIV infection. DESIGN Retrospective review of clinical charts. SETTING Six hundred-bed university hospital. PATIENTS We studied the clinical findings of 64 patients without HIV and 15 patients with HIV. Patients with a serologic diagnosis only were not included. Patients with previous immunos...

Coinciding with major changes to its municipal water system, Flint, MI, endured Legionnaires' disease outbreaks in 2014 and 2015. By sampling premise plumbing in Flint in the fall of 2016, we found that 12% of homes harbored legionellae, a frequency similar to that in residences in neighboring areas. To evaluate the genetic diversity of Legionella pneumophila in Southeast Michigan, we determine...

Legionnaires’ disease is a severe, sometimes fatal disease characterized by fever, myalgia, cough, and clinical or radiographic pneumonia, caused by inhaling or aspirating small droplets of water containing Legionella bacteria.* In 2015, approximately 6,000 cases of Legionnaires’ disease were reported in the United States (1). Nearly 10% of cases are fatal (2). The number of reported cases of L...