Legionella pneumophila
Photograph
By: Photo Researchers, Inc.
Source: Dowsett, A.B. "Legionella pneumophila." Photo Researchers, Inc. Image no. 2G6682.
Introduction
The bacterium Legionella pneumophila causes Legionnaires' disease. The bacterium spreads through the air, infecting people who inhale it. People in a building with the bacterium may, for example, inhale it through the airconditioning system. The bacterium also lives in soil and can infect someone in contact with soil harboring it.
The bacterium strikes people in middle and old age. People with weak immune systems, such as those with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), are vulnerable to infection. Others susceptible to infection include people with diabetes and pulmonary disease, alcoholics, and smokers, who are nearly four times more likely to contract Legionnaries' disease than nonsmokers.
Upon entering the body, the...
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1970's Medicine and Health Primary Sources
The 1970's: Primary Sources
