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b>Legionella: The bacterium that causes Legionnaires'
disease. This disease is due specifically to the bacterium Legionella pneumophila found in plumbing, shower heads and
water-storage tanks. Outbreaks of Legionella pneumonia have been
attributed to evaporative condensers and cooling towers. The
bacterium thrives in the mist sprayed from air-conditioning
ducts and so it can infest an entire building or airplane. Travelers
are especially vulnerable in the closed space within a plane.
Legionnaires' disease can cause a massive pneumonia
associated with collapse of the respiratory function. It can be an
overwhelming and sometimes fatal illness.
The disease was first identified as a sequel of the 1976
convention of the American Legion in some of the Legionnaires who had
attended the convention. It was therefore named Legionnaires'
disease.
The distinguished surgeon/writer Richard Selzer has recounted his
own near-fatal experience with Legionnaires' disease in "Raising the
Dead. A Doctor's Encounter with His Own Mortality" (Whittle/Viking,
New York, 1993, ISBN 0-670-85414-X).
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