a Fascinating Bacterium Uncovered in the Twentieth Century

In July 1976, the American Legion held a conference at the Bellevue Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia, PA, to celebrate the nation's bicentennial. This convention resulted in transmission of a gram-negative bacterium to over 200 attendees, who developed a respiratory illness; 34 deaths were attributed to the infections. An investigation of the illness revealed a bacterium that had not been documented before. The disease became known as Legionnaires' disease, and the etiological agent was subsequently named Legionella pneumophila.

Source: Clinical Microbiology Newsletter - July 24, 2015 Category: Microbiology Authors: Paula H. Vance, Fran Schaeffer, Ernest Trevino, Alice S. Weissfeld Source Type: news