A hotel in Philadelphia was found to be the origin of the atypical pneumonia that was found, as indicated by the findings of the inquiry that was conducted.
Bicentennial celebrations were held in 1976 for the United States of America. During the presidential election, Jimmy Carter emerged victorious over Gerald Ford.
It was also reported that scores of people who were attending a convention held by the American Legion in Philadelphia became ill with an unknown respiratory illness.
There were 221 people who became sick out of a total of 2000 conference attendees, and 34 of them passed away. It was a previously unknown form of bacteria that was later given the name of the people who were affected by it. What exactly is the sickness known as Legionnaires’ disease?
The term “legionellosis” refers to any infection associated with the genus of bacteria known as Legionella. A kind of bacteria known as Legionella pneumophila is typically responsible for the development of the atypical form of pneumonia known as Legionnaires’ disease.
This infection is the most well-known of these diseases. The good news is that the majority of persons who are exposed to L. pneumophila or the species L. longbeachae, L. feeleii, L. micdadei, and L. anisa, which are observed less commonly, do not typically become ill. Legionnaires’ disease is a disease that can be treated if it is contracted.
The United States of America is responsible for around ten percent of the global occurrence of Legionnaires’ disease, and each year, between eight thousand and sixteen thousand people in the United States are hospitalized with the disease.
There is a danger of lifetime complications from an illness that is left untreated for an excessive amount of time; however, the majority of healthy people are able to recover through treatment with antibiotics and do recover.
Immunocompromised individuals, those over the age of 50, smokers, and those suffering from chronic lung disorders such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are the individuals who are most likely to experience a critical or fatal outcome.
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The faster you start treatment, the more likely it is that you will get better. Legionnaires’ disease signs, like a high fever, cough, shortness of breath, muscle aches or headaches, are similar to those of other respiratory illnesses, like the flu or other types of pneumonia.
This could make treatment take longer than planned. Most of the time, signs show up two to ten days after exposure, but sometimes it can take up to two weeks.
Legionnaires’ disease can not be passed from person to person, which is good news. Instead, people get sick by breathing in mist that comes from contaminated water sources, like hot tubs that have not been cleaned properly, ventilation systems, or big plumbing systems.
In the 1976 case, the bacteria was found in the cooling towers of the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, which is where the meeting took place. The air conditioning system quickly spread the bacteria to other parts of the building.