Legionnaire’s Disease: A Brief History and Prevention Practices

In the summer of 1976, a veteran organization called the American Legion held their annual three-day convention.  Thousands of Legionnaire members came to the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia to celebrate the nation’s Bicentennial.  Tragedy struck within a week when two members died suddenly with symptoms similar to pneumonia.  Soon, other members became hospitalized.  Victims were overcome by a severe headache, followed by muscle and chest pain, and then a fever.  Eventually, 11 more Legionnaires succumbed to death.

In all, this unidentified disease took the lives of 34 Legionnaires and was thus dubbed the Legionnaire’s Disease.  It wasn’t until almost a year later that the cause was finally exposed.  The culprit was found to be a bacterium that grew and multiplied in warm and stagnant water.  This exact watery condition was discovered inside the water cooling tower of the Bellevue-Stratford hotel’s air conditioning system, situated on the roof of the hotel.  The bacteria bred inside the units, was drawn up into the air through the fans, and traveled airborne.

As a deadly mist of contaminated bacteria, it floated from the roof, over and down the sides of the building, and onto the street below, where it landed on pedestrians and visitors at the hotel’s entrance and sidewalks.  Named the Legionella bacteria, this silent killer was found in similar cooling towers across the country, causing scientists to believe that Legionella had killed before.  Blood samples from earlier mysterious outbreaks were tested and the Legionella bacterium was found, connecting it to a number of unsolved deaths in the past.

Preventable tragedies like these make it clear that commercial facilities must take active measures to protect its patrons.  To prevent Legionnaires disease in particular, it is crucial that all water systems (hot tubs, water tanks, water heaters, plumbing systems, air conditioning towers, fountains) leave no room for stagnant water, and that conditions are maintained at a temperature below 20C or above 60C.  In addition, all water units must conform to industry standards for health and safety.

With just a few of these simple precautions, commercial facilities can protect their patrons and prevent further catastrophes, while providing air quality that is cleaner, healthier, and more pure.