File:PMC5258191_cureus-0008-00000000937-i01.png · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
legionnaires' disease
Sign in to saveAlso known as (Legionella) or (Legionnaire's disease), Infection by Legionella pneumophilia (disorder), Legionella pneumonia (disorder), Legionellosis, Infection by Legionella pneumophilia, Legionnaire's disease, Legionella pneumonia, Legionella
infectious disease characterized by severe form of infection producing pneumonia
Key facts
- Other names
- Legionellosis, legion fever
- Specialty
- Infectious disease , pulmonology
- Symptoms
- Cough, shortness of breath , fever , muscle pains , headaches
- Usual onset
- 2–10 days after exposure
- Causes
- Bacteria of the Legionella type (spread by contaminated mist )
- Risk factors
- Older age, history of smoking, chronic lung disease , staying in a hotel, spa or a hospital, poor immune function
- Diagnostic method
- Urinary antigen test , sputum culture
- Prevention
- Good maintenance of water systems
- Treatment
- Antibiotics
- Prognosis
- 10% risk of death
- Frequency
- ~13,000 severe cases a year (US)
via Wikipedia infobox
Research
6,313 papersvia PubMed
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- notifiable disease
- Subclass of
- disease
- Image
- PMC5258191 cureus-0008-00000000937-i01.png
Show 14 more facts
- drug or therapy used for treatment
- azithromycin
- ICPC 2 ID
- R81
- Commons category
- Legionnaires' disease
- possible treatment
- detoxification
- health specialty
- pulmonology
- has cause
- Legionella pneumophila
- exact match
- identifiers.org/doid/DOID:10457
- minimal incubation period in humans
- 2
- maximal incubation period in humans
- 16
- symptoms and signs
- pneumonia
- NCI Thesaurus ID
- C128339
- ICD-9-CM
- 482.84
- on focus list of Wikimedia project
- WikiProject Medicine
- medical examination
- polymerase chain reaction
via Wikidata · CC0
~25 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Legionnaires' disease is a form of atypical pneumonia caused by any species of Legionella bacteria, quite often Legionella pneumophila. Signs and symptoms include cough, shortness of breath, high fever, muscle pains, and headaches. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may also occur. This often begins 2–10 days after exposure.
A legionellosis is any disease caused by Legionella, including Legionnaires' disease (a pneumonia) and Pontiac fever (a related upper respiratory tract infection), but Legionnaires' disease is the most common, so mentions of legionellosis often refer to Legionnaires' disease.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “legionnaires' disease” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.