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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffLegionnaires' disease is a severe form of pneumonia — lung inflammation usually caused by infection. Legionnaires' disease is caused by a bacterium known as legionella.
You can't catch Legionnaires' disease from person-to-person contact. Instead, most people get Legionnaires' disease from inhaling the bacteria. Older adults, smokers and people with weakened immune systems are particularly susceptible to Legionnaires' disease.
Legionella bacterium also causes Pontiac fever, a milder illness resembling the flu. Separately or together, the two illnesses are sometimes called legionellosis. Pontiac fever usually clears on its own. But untreated Legionnaires' disease can be fatal. Although prompt treatment with antibiotics usually cures Legionnaires' disease, some people continue to experience problems after treatment.
- Pedro-Botet ML, et al. Epidemiology and pathogenesis of Legionella infection. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Oct. 13, 2010.
- Patient facts: Learn more about Legionnaires' disease. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/legionella/patient_facts.htm. Accessed Oct. 13, 2010.
- Edelstein PH, et al. Legionella. In: Mandell GL, et al. Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's Principles and Practices of Infectious Diseases. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/linkTo?type=bookPage&isbn=978-0-443-06839-3&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-443-06839-3..00232-0. Oct. 14, 2010.
- Pedro-Botet ML, et al. Treatment and prevention of legionella infection. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Oct. 13, 2010.
- Top 10 things every clinician needs to know about legionellosis. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/legionella/top10.htm. Accessed Oct. 13, 2010.
- Pedro-Botet ML, et al. Clinical manifestations and diagnosis of legionella infection. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Oct. 13, 2010.
- Neil K, et al. Increasing incidence of legionellosis in the United States, 1990-2005: Changing epidemiologic trends. Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2008;47:591.
- Nhu Nguyen TM, et al. A community-wide outbreak of Legionnaires disease linked to industrial cooling towers — How far can contaminated aerosols spread? Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2006;193:102.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, et al. Legionnaires' disease associated with potting soil — California, Oregon, and Washington, May-June 2000. MMWR. 2000;49:777. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4934a1.htm. Accessed Oct. 19, 2010.
- Legionellosis. World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs285/en/index.html. Accessed Oct. 19, 2010.
- Sabria M, et al. Legionella infection. In: Fauci AS, et al. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. 17th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aid=2871241. Accessed Oct. 13, 2010.
- Cunha BA. Legionnaires' disease: Clinical differentiation from typical and other atypical pneumonias. Infectious Disease Clinics of North America. 2010;24:73.
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