ipl-logo

Legionella Pneumophila

120 Words1 Pages
Background
Legionella pneumophila acquired its fame through a 1976 American Legion conference for US military veterans, when many attendees came down with pneumonia (pneumophila = “lung-loving”). In nature, they are found in soil or as parasites of fresh-water amoebas. In fact, many of the virulent traits are results from their environment in nature. Sometimes, they team up with other bacteria, algae, and protozoa to form “biofilms”–a lump of trouble protected by complex slime that is hard to remove. In humans, Legionella causes both Legionnaire’s disease (pneumonic) and a milder Pontiac fever (non-pneumonic). Both diseases can be generalized as legionellosis. Due to a lack of uniform surveillance (and Pontiac fever is usually missed), the

More about Legionella Pneumophila

Open Document