But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. Live TV. This Day In History. History Vault. Recommended for you. Remembering the Apollo 1 Tragedy. Remembering Hands Across America. Remembering the Sinking of the Bismarck. Unfortunately, cooling towers are the perfect breeding ground for Legionella pneumophila , and its dissemination through the Bellevue Stratford Hotel was facilitated by the air conditioning.
Since its discovery in , Legionella pneumophila has been extensively characterized. Scientists have found the pathogenic microorganism to be responsible for outbreaks since then. Symptoms include high fever, headache, dry cough, chest pain, difficulty breathing, diarrhea, confusion, delirium, vomiting, nausea, and failure to respond to beta-lactam antibiotics, the type of antibiotics usually used for pneumonia.
The bacteria are ubiquitous in freshwater environments like lakes, rivers and wet soils Phares. One perfect place for this bacteria to grow is cooling towers and air-conditioning systems, as was the cause of the outbreak in Philadelphia.
However, L. These outbreaks have caught the attention of the World Health Organization WHO which has devised approaches to control cooling tower environments, and develop water safety plans. Epidemiology is the branch of medicine dealing with the incidence and prevalence of disease in large populations and with detection of the source and cause of epidemics of infectious disease. Common environments for Legionella pneumophila are potable water distribution systems, cooling towers and evaporative condensers, health care facilities, hotels and ships, and natural spas, hot tubs, and swimming pools.
He contacted the Pennsylvania Department of Health to report his findings. Officials at the American Legion also became concerned when notified of the sudden death of numerous members. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC was called in and mounted one of its largest investigations ever to try to identify the cause.
Bioterrorism, foul play, microorganisms, and toxins all were considered. They were veterans like Ray Brennan, Frank Aveni and Charles Seidel, who went to an ordinary meeting, fell ill shortly after with chest pains and high fevers, and died not long after.
They had spent time all over the city, eaten in restaurants and traveled home in a variety of ways. The magazine noted many friends and neighbors of John Bryant Ralph, another Legionnaire, did not attend his funeral for fear his disease might be catching. For many Americans, the Philadelphia outbreak was the first time they were aware of the work done by the Centers for Disease Control, a then-obscure organization that went to work trying to figure out what was killing the Legionnaires:.
They crisscrossed the state to interrogate every one of the stricken Legionnaires and the families and friends of the deceased. Their quest: a common denominator, a set of experiences that would link all the victims, such as meals taken together, rooms in the same hotel, exposure to similar contamination. Their method: careful questioning and cross-referencing. When did you first feel sick? Where did you eat and stay in Philadelphia? When did you arrive there? When did you leave?
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