Synonym: Pontiac fever (milder, not pulmonary)
Legionnaires' disease (LD) is a severe, potentially fatal acute pneumonia acquired by droplet inhalation of water contaminated by bacteria of the genus Legionella. It was named in 1976 following a serious outbreak of pulmonary infection at a convention of the American Legion in Philadelphia, when 29 out of 182 affected individuals died. The Legion was meeting to commemorate the American 200th anniversary of independence. The causative organism was Legionella pneumophila, a bacterium which is only found in aquatic systems where it exists symbiotically with some amoebae.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original article at https://patient.info/doctor/legionnaires-disease-pro