Causes: Legionnaires' disease:
Legionnaires' disease is most often contracted by inhaling mist from
water sources such as whirlpool baths, showers, and cooling towers that
are contaminated with Legionella bacteria. There is no evidence for
person-to-person spread of the disease. (Source: excerpt from Legionnaires' Disease: NIEHS_1)
The following medical news items are relevant to causes of Legionnaires' disease:
As with all medical conditions, there may be many causal factors. Further relevant information on causes of Legionnaires' disease may be found in:
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The causative agent of Legionnaires’ disease, Legionella pneumophila, is an aerobic, gram-negative bacillus that’s probably transmitted by an airborne route. In past epidemics, it has spread through cooling towers or evaporation condensers in air-conditioning systems. However, Legionella bacilli also flourish in soil and excavation sites. The disease doesn’t spread from person to person.
Legionnaires’ disease is most likely to affect:
❑ middle-age and elderly people
❑ immunocompromised patients (particularly those receiving corticosteroids, for example, after a transplant) or those with lymphoma or other disorders associated with delayed hypersensitivity
❑ patients with a chronic underlying disease, such as diabetes, chronic renal failure, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
❑ those with alcoholism
❑ cigarette smokers
❑ those on a ventilator for extended periods
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
The cause of legionnaires’ disease, Legionella pneumophila, is an aerobic, gram-negative bacillus that’s probably transmitted by an airborne route. With past epidemics, it has spread through cooling towers or evaporation condensers in air-conditioning systems. However, Legionella bacilli also flourish in soil and excavation sites. The disease doesn’t spread from person to person.
Legionnaires’ disease is more common in men than in women and is most likely to affect:
❑ middle-aged to elderly people
❑ immunocompromised people (particularly those receiving a corticosteroid, for example, after a transplant) or those with lymphoma or other disorders associated with delayed hypersensitivity
❑ patients with a chronic underlying disease, such as diabetes, chronic renal failure, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
❑ alcoholics
❑ cigarette smokers (three to four times more likely to develop legionnaires’ disease than nonsmokers).
Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003
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