Legionnaires Disease

Legionnaires disease is a potentially fatal form of pneumonia. This disease does not spread through person to person contact. This disease usually enters our body through breathing in mist from water that contains the bacteria. The mist may come from hot tubs, showers or air-conditioning units for large buildings.

Following are some of the symptoms of Legionnaires disease:

# Fever.

# Chills.

# Dry cough or may produce sputum.

# Muscles ache.

# Headache.

# Loss of appetite.

# Loss of coordination.

# Occasionally diarrhea and vomiting.

To diagnose this disease, a chest X-ray is needed. A case of Legionnaires disease will go undetected unless special laboratory test are performed.

The risk of infection is based on two key factors:

1. The number of legianellae reaching the body.
2. The resistance of the individual.

Young and healthy people can get Legionnaires disease but people who have weakened immune system are at a much higher risk because they can be infected by relatively low legianellae count. Also, smokers, person who are over 65 years of age and heavy drinkers have a moderately higher risk.

Patients who recover from Legionnaires disease can suffer long term side effects. The most common are fatigue and lack of energy for several months.

Keeping legianellae out of water is the key to preventing the disease. For example, plumbing systems can be maintained to minimize the growth of legianellae. And if preventive measures alone do not control the bacteria, disinfection procedures can be implemented.

Two antibiotics that are commonly used to treat Legionnaires disease are enthromycin and rifampin.