Symptoms of Legionnaires' disease

List of symptoms of Legionnaires' disease:

The list of signs and symptoms mentioned in various sources for Legionnaires' disease includes the 49 symptoms listed below:

• No symptoms - many people are not affected by the disease
• Flu-like symptoms
• Fever
• Chills
• Productive or non-productive cough
• Abdominal pain
• Diarrhea
• Confusion
• Muscle aches
• Headache
• Tiredness
• Loss of appetite
• Coughing
• Confusion
• Delirium
• Pulmonary complications
• Gastrointestinal tract complications
• Central nervous system complications
• Kidney insufficiency
• Pneumonia
• Headache
• Muscle pain
• High fever
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Shaking chills
• Dry cough
• Chest pain
• Pneumonia
• Confusion
• Disorientation
• Headache
• Aching muscles
• Loss of appetite
• Impaired coordination
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Fatigue
• Fever
• Chills
• Malaise
• Diarrhea
• Confusion
• Cough
• Coughing up phlegm
• Pneumonia
• Impaired kidney function
• Impaired liver function

Note that Legionnaires' disease symptoms usually refers to various symptoms known to a patient, but the phrase Legionnaires' disease signs may refer to those signs only noticable by a doctor.

More ways to research these symptoms: To research other symptoms use the symptom center, or to research causes of more than one symptom in combination, try our multi-symptom search.

Research More About Legionnaires' disease

Do I have Legionnaires' disease?

• Legionnaires' disease: Introduction
• Legionnaires' disease: Diagnostic Testing to confirm diagnosis
• Alternative diagnoses and misdiagnosis for Legionnaires' disease
• Failure to Diagnose Legionnaires' disease
• How serious is it?
• Treatments for Legionnaires' disease
• More about Legionnaires' disease

Wrongly Diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease?

The list of other diseases or medical conditions that may be on the differential diagnosis list of alternative diagnoses for Legionnaires' disease includes:

• Pneumonia
• Other infectious pneumonia
• Pulmonary embolism
• Aspiration pneumonia (type of Pneumonia)
• Myocardial infarction

See the full list of 9 alternative diagnoses for Legionnaires' disease

More about symptoms of Legionnaires' disease:

More information about symptoms of Legionnaires' disease and related conditions:

• Other diseases with similar symptoms and common misdiagnoses
• Tests to determine if these are the symptoms of Legionnaires' disease
• Symptoms that may be caused by complications of Legionnaires' disease
• Risk factors for Legionnaires' disease

Other Possible Causes of these Symptoms

Click on any of the symptoms below to see a full list of other causes including diseases, medical conditions, toxins, drug interactions, or drug side effect causes of that symptom.

• Abdominal pain - see all causes of Abdominal pain
• Aching muscles - see all causes of Muscle aches
• Chest pain - see all causes of Chest pain
• Chills - see all causes of Chills
• Chills - see all causes of Chills
• Confusion - see all causes of Confusion
• Confusion - see all causes of Confusion
• Confusion - see all causes of Confusion
• Confusion - see all causes of Confusion
• Cough - see all causes of Cough
• Coughing - see all causes of Coughing
• Coughing up phlegm - see all causes of Cough
• Delirium - see all causes of Delirium
• Diarrhea - see all causes of Diarrhea
• Diarrhea - see all causes of Diarrhea
• Diarrhea - see all causes of Diarrhea
• Disorientation - see all causes of Disorientation
• Dry cough - see all causes of Dry cough
• Fatigue - see all causes of Fatigue
• Fever - see all causes of Fever
• Fever - see all causes of Fever
• Flu-like symptoms - see all causes of Flu-like symptoms
• Headache - see all causes of Headache
• Headache - see all causes of Headache
• Headache - see all causes of Headache
• High fever - see all causes of High fever
• Impaired coordination - see all causes of Impaired coordination
• Impaired kidney function - see all causes of Kidney symptoms
• Kidney insufficiency - see all causes of Kidney symptoms
• Loss of appetite - see all causes of Poor appetite
• Loss of appetite - see all causes of Poor appetite
• Malaise - see all causes of Malaise
• Muscle aches - see all causes of Muscle aches
• Muscle pain - see all causes of Muscle pain
• Nausea - see all causes of Nausea
• Nausea - see all causes of Nausea
• No symptoms - see all causes of No symptoms
• Pneumonia - see all causes of Pneumonia
• Pneumonia - see all causes of Pneumonia
• Pneumonia - see all causes of Pneumonia
• Productive or non-productive cough - see all causes of Wet cough
• Pulmonary complications - see all causes of Lung symptoms
• Tiredness - see all causes of Tiredness
• Vomiting - see all causes of Vomiting
• Vomiting - see all causes of Vomiting

Medical Books Online about Legionnaires' disease

Medical Books Excerpts Excerpts of published medical book chapters related to Legionnaires' disease are available from published medical books for more detailed information about Legionnaires' disease.

Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

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Symptoms of Legionnaires' disease: Online Medical Books

16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE! Review excerpts from medical books online, free, without registration, for more information about the symptoms of Legionnaires' disease.

Legionnaires' disease: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

The multisystem clinical features of Legionnaires’ disease follow a predictable sequence, although the onset of the disease may be gradual or sudden. After a 2- to 10-day incubation period, nonspecific, prodromal signs and symptoms appear, including diarrhea, anorexia, malaise, diffuse myalgias and generalized weakness, headache, and recurrent chills. An unremitting fever develops within 12 to 48 hours with a temperature that may reach 105° F (40.6° C). A cough then develops that’s nonproductive initially but eventually may produce grayish, nonpurulent, and occasionally blood-streaked sputum.

Other characteristic features include nausea, vomiting, disorientation, mental sluggishness, confusion, mild temporary amnesia, pleuritic chest pain, tachypnea, dyspnea, and fine crackles. Patients who develop pneumonia may also experience hypoxia. Other complications include hypotension, delirium, heart failure, arrhythmias, acute respiratory failure, renal failure, and shock (usually fatal).

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Legionnaires' disease: Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)

Although signs and symptoms of legionnaires’ disease emerge in a predictable sequence, onset of the disease may be gradual or sudden.

After a 2- to 10-day incubation period, nonspecific, prodromal signs and symptoms appear, including diarrhea, anorexia, malaise, diffuse myalgia and generalized weakness, headache, recurrent chills, and an unremitting fever, which develops within 12 to 48 hours with a temperature as high as 105° F (40.6° C). A cough then develops that is initially nonproductive but eventually may produce grayish, nonpurulent and, occasionally, blood-streaked sputum.

Other characteristic signs and symptoms include nausea, vomiting, disorientation, mental sluggishness, confusion, mild temporary amnesia, pleuritic chest pain, tachypnea, dyspnea, fine crackles and, in 50% of patients, bradycardia. Patients who develop pneumonia may also experience hypoxia. Other complications include hypotension, delirium, heart failure, arrhythmias, acute respiratory failure, renal failure, and shock (usually fatal).

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Article Excerpts About Symptoms of Legionnaires' disease:

Legionnaires' Disease: NIEHS_1 (Excerpt)

Symptoms of Legionnaires' disease include fever, chills, and a cough that may or may not produce sputum. Other symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, and confusion. This list of symptoms, however, does not readily distinguish Legionnaires' disease from other types of pneumonia. (Source: excerpt from Legionnaires' Disease: NIEHS_1)

Legionnaires' Disease: NIEHS_1 (Excerpt)

Although Legionnaires' disease has a mortality rate of 5 to 15 percent, many people may be infected with the bacterium that causes the disease, yet not develop any symptoms. It is likely that many cases of Legionnaires' disease go undiagnosed. (Source: excerpt from Legionnaires' Disease: NIEHS_1)

Legionellosis (General): DBMD (Excerpt)

Outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease receive significant media attention. However, this disease usually occurs as a single, isolated case not associated with any recognized outbreak. When outbreaks do occur, they are are usually recognized in the summer and early fall, but cases may occur year-round. About 5% to 30% of people who have Legionnaires' disease die. (Source: excerpt from Legionellosis (General): DBMD)

Legionellosis (General): DBMD (Excerpt)

Patients with Legionnaires' disease usually have fever, chills, and a cough, which may be dry or may produce sputum. Some patients also have muscle aches, headache, tiredness, loss of appetite, and, occasionally, diarrhea. Laboratory tests may show that these patients' kidneys are not functioning properly. Chest X-rays often show pneumonia. It is difficult to distinguish Legionnaires' disease from other types of pneumonia by symptoms alone; other tests are required for diagnosis. (Source: excerpt from Legionellosis (General): DBMD)

Legionnaires' disease as a Cause of Symptoms or Medical Conditions

When considering symptoms of Legionnaires' disease, it is also important to consider Legionnaires' disease as a possible cause of other medical conditions. The Disease Database lists the following medical conditions that Legionnaires' disease may cause:

• Atypical pneumonia
• Brain failure
• Diarrhoea
• Gram negative bacilli / rods
• Haematuria
• Hepatocellular jaundice
• Hyponatraemia
• Lymphocytopenia
• Pancytopenia
• Peripheral neuropathy
• Pontiac fever
• Proteinuria
• Respiratory failure

Medical articles and books on symptoms:

These general reference articles may be of interest in relation to medical signs and symptoms of disease in general:

• Diagnostic Testing for a Diagnosis of Legionnaires' disease
• Research Alternative Diagnoses for Legionnaires' disease
• How serious is Legionnaires' disease?
• More about Legionnaires' disease
• Online Diagnosis
• Self Diagnosis Pitfalls
• Pitfalls of Online Diagnosis
• Symptoms of the Silent Killer Diseases
• Lesser known silent killer diseases
• Books on signs and symptoms

Full list of premium articles on symptoms and diagnosis

About signs and symptoms of Legionnaires' disease:

The symptom information on this page attempts to provide a list of some possible signs and symptoms of Legionnaires' disease. This signs and symptoms information for Legionnaires' disease has been gathered from various sources, may not be fully accurate, and may not be the full list of Legionnaires' disease signs or Legionnaires' disease symptoms. Furthermore, signs and symptoms of Legionnaires' disease may vary on an individual basis for each patient. Only your doctor can provide adequate diagnosis of any signs or symptoms and whether they are indeed Legionnaires' disease symptoms.