Juniper Online Journal of Case Studies

Legionellosis- A Mini Review

Author: Arnav Wadhawan and Rajinder PS Bajwa*

Published: September 22, 2018

DOI: 10.19080/JOJCS.2018.08.555732

Abstract Content: Legionellosis is the term used to describe clinical manifestations of infection caused by the Legionella bacteria. It includes Legionnaires disease (LD), focal non-pulmonary infections and Pontiac fever. LD is a type of bacterial pneumonia, while Pontiac fever is a several days long non-pneumonic, febrile, influenza like illness associated with exposure to Legionella spp. That resolves spontaneously. Legionnaires disease was first described during an outbreak at a convention of the American legion in Philadelphia in 1976 [1]. Twenty-nine of 182 cases were fatal. Extensive epidemiologic work led to identification of the bacterium.