About the Disease
Legionnaires' disease is a severe, often lethal, form of pneumonia. It's caused by the bacterium Legionella pneumophila found in both potable and nonpotable water systems. Each year, an estimated 10,000 to 18,000 people are infected with the Legionella bacteria in the United States.
It is not uncommon for patients with Legionnaires' disease to be admitted to the intensive care unit. Some will suffer long-term impaired health-related quality of life. A study of outbreak survivors showed persistence of fatigue (75%), neurologic symptoms (66%) and neuromuscular symptoms (63%) in months after an outbreak. See Share Your Story for a first-hand account of the severity of this disease.
Resources
Legionella Testing in US
The Special Pathogens Laboratory is a nationally-recognized analytical microbiology laboratory that offers the healthcare industry, water treatment industry and other commercial and industrial sectors reliable, high-quality microbiology services specializing in the detection, control and remediation of Legionella and other waterborne pathogens such as Pseudomonas, Mycobacteria and fungi.
Guideline from New York Department of Health
This document from the New York Department of Health was prompted by inflammatory media coverage of outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease in New York hospitals. It documents the importance of routine environmental surveillance for Legionella as a preventive measure for hospital-acquired Legionnaires' disease.
www.health.ny.gov/professionals/diseases/reporting/communicable/infection/
Antimicrobe.org
Antimicrobe is the most comprehensive authoritative database for infectious diseases and antimicrobial agents today. The website is updated daily with new articles on diagnosis and therapy. Alternative drugs, when the drug of choice cannot be used, is a major feature. Reviews, guidelines, history of medicine stories, and focused Medline searches within the website characterize this innovative and sophisticated approach to medical information.
Legionnaires' Disease - Denis Green
This is a colorful website manned by Denis Green, a layperson. As such, it contains some information that has not been scientifically validated, but reflects the personal biases of the creator. For healthcare professionals, the site does contain a listing of Legionella outbreaks publicized in the lay media. For laypersons, it contains information about support groups for those who contract LD.
www.q-net.net.au/~legion/Legionnaire%60s_Disease_CONTENTS.htm