Legionella pneumophila, the causative agent of Legionnaires' disease, is known to colonise and frequently grow in cooling tower waters. Disease is acquired by inhaling aerosol contaminated by legionellae. Determination of the count of Legionella pneumophila in cooling tower waters may, therefore, be useful for risk assessment. In our survey, 103 water samples from 50 cooling towers were examine...

Antisera and fluorescein isothiocyanate conjugates prepared for five strains of the Legionnaires bacteria were tested in both homologous and heterologous staining reactions with 10 isolates of the organism from patients in seven geographic areas. The strains were related but not identical as judged by the results of direct immunofluorescence staining. The conjugates were successfully used to de...

Fraser et all in their original description of legionnaires' disease referred to three patients out of 182 with a WCC less than 2.0 x 109/1, two of whom died. Two other patients had WCCs of less than 6 0 x 109/1. During his acute illness our patient had pancytopenia with bone marrow depression. We can only speculate on the part played by legionnaires' disease in producing hypoplastic anaemia. A...

Pneumonia is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in nursing home patients. In acute care hospitals, there is considerable evidence to indicate that Legionnaires' disease is a significant cause of nosocomial pneumonia, the source of which is the potable water system. A relatively limited amount of data exists as to the role of Legionnaires' disease as a cause of pneumonia acquired in long...

Once a year, countries that collaborate in the European Surveillance Scheme for Travel Associated Legionnaires' Disease (EWGLINET) are requested to submit a dataset that provides epidemiological and microbiological information on cases of legionnaires' disease (nosocomial (hospital-acquired), community and travel related) detected in their country for that year. This paper presents the data col...

BACKGROUND The environmental sources of sporadic, community-acquired legionnaires' disease are largely unknown, and culturing of water sources after identification of a case is currently not recommended. We conducted a prospective study of sporadic cases of community-acquired legionnaires' disease to determine whether the environmental reservoirs could be identified. METHODS We cultured sampl...

Seventy nine cases of sporadic, community acquired legionnaires' disease have been reviewed. Annual and seasonal variation in incidence was noted. The mean age of the patients was 53 years and 50 (63%) were male. Pre-existing chronic diseases were present in only 23 (29%), including two patients receiving immunosuppressive treatment. Common symptoms included unproductive cough, dyspnoea, chest ...

BACKGROUND The number of reported cases of Legionnaires' disease, a severe pneumonia caused by the bacterium Legionella, is increasing in the United States. During 2000-2014, the rate of reported legionellosis cases increased from 0.42 to 1.62 per 100 000 persons; 4% of reported cases were outbreak-associated. Legionella is transmitted through aerosolization of contaminated water. A new industr...

egionnaires’ disease was first recognized in 1976 during an outbreak among attendees at an American Legion convention. The disease is a form of pneumonia caused by bacteria of the genus Legionella. Legionella thrives at warm temperatures (25–42oC [77–108oF]). It lives inside biofilm in aquatic environments, usually as an intracellular parasite of amoebae.1 This lifestyle protects it from disinf...

ORJECI1VE: To evaluate the effect of copper-silver ionization on Legionella colonization and nosocomial legionnaires' disease and to compare the efficacy of metal ions versus the superheat-and-tlush method of disinfection. DESIGN: Prospective determination over a 36-month period of copper and silver ion concentrations in the recirculating hotwater system, Legionella colonization of the hospital...