Legionnaires' disease is a type of pneumonia that is due to a bacterium known as Legionella, which was first discovered in 1976. The disease was first reported after an outbreak at an American Legion convention. Patients who present with symptoms of pneumonia are often tested to determine if the illness is in fact Legionnaires'.
Every year in the United States the CDC reports anywhere from 8,000 to 18,000 cases of people being hospitalized with Legionnaires' disease. That being said, there are also a high number of cases that are not properly diagnosed or reported, so these figures are actually much higher.
This disease is considered to be a notifiable disease in which health districts can pinpoint outbreaks by means of the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS). Read more >>
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