Legionnaires' Disease

An isolated case of Legionnaires' disease

“…Sixtyfour of the American cases were isolated ones as were at least 3 of those in the U.K. (Lawson et al, 1977;Ashford et al, 1977;Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, 1977;Mitchell-Heggs, Jones and Groom, 1978). From the cases described in detail (Lawson et al, 1977) resolution of pulmonary disease usually began at about 10 days, but in the present patient there was no sign of radiological improvement until about 30 days after admission and at that time evidence of cavitation appeared. Between 14 and 20 days after admission, there was a dramatic rise in WCC to 300 x 109/l, and a slight rise in temperature and pulse rate.…”

“…Center for Disease Control, 1977) and a few in this country (Macrae and Lewis, 1977;Lawson et al, 1977;Ashford, Edmonds and Shanson, 1977). Sixtyfour of the American cases were isolated ones as were at least 3 of those in the U.K. (Lawson et al, 1977;Ashford et al, 1977;Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, 1977;Mitchell-Heggs, Jones and Groom, 1978).…”

“…Center for Disease Control, 1977) and a few in this country (Macrae and Lewis, 1977;Lawson et al, 1977;Ashford, Edmonds and Shanson, 1977). Sixtyfour of the American cases were isolated ones as were at least 3 of those in the U.K. (Lawson et al, 1977;Ashford et al, 1977;Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, 1977;Mitchell-Heggs, Jones and Groom, 1978). From the cases described in detail (Lawson et al, 1977) resolution of pulmonary disease usually began at about 10 days, but in the present patient there was no sign of radiological improvement until about 30 days after admission and at that time evidence of cavitation appeared.…”

Legionnaires disease — 1. The Philadelphia outbreak

“…By the time the articles appeared in the NEJM, retrospective studies showed that previous outbreaks -in a mental hospital in Washington, and a Health Headquarters building in Pontiac were also due to legionella, of which several different types and serotypes were now discovered. The message had got out already, and in November the Lancet carried details of the first cases in Europe -UK holidaymakers from Spain, whose sera was shown to contain antibodies at the CDC (Lawson et al, 1977). Later when cultures became practicable, my colleagues in Cambridge (Nagington et al, 1979) made some of the first isolations in Europe (while many of their colleagues were away in Atlanta, attending the first international legionella conference), and also found a new serotype.…”

A fatal case of Legionnaires' disease originating in Scotland

“…These authors refer to outbreaks in the Washington area and Pontiac (Michigan) while Macrae and Lewis (1977) refer to an outbreak in Nottingham, England, and Lawson et al (1977), Lawson (1978), and Reid, Grist and Natjera (1978) record the disease in Scottish tourists returning to Glasgow after holidays in Spain. The pathology of the deaths among these last cases has been reported (Boyd et al, 1978), and the pathology of the original Legionnaires' disease episode is also on record (Chandler et al, 1977;Blackmon et al, 1978).…”