Fifty years since the discovery of a new infectious disease –⁠ legionellosis

Czech version

Authors: Jiří Beneš
Authors‘ workplace: Klinika infekčních nemocí, 3. lékařská fakulta, Univerzita Karlova a Fakultní nemocnice Bulovka, Praha
Published in: Čes-slov Pediat 2026; 81 (3): 169-171.
Category: Short News
doi: https://doi.org/10.55095/CSPediatrie2026/031

Overview

Beneš J. Fifty years since the discovery of a new infectious disease –⁠ legionellosis

The article describes the history of the discovery of Legionnaires’ disease, including the complications and confusion that accompanied this discovery. The second part of the text provides a brief summary of the pathogenesis of the disease, its diagnosis, and treatment.

Keywords:

diagnosis – history – Legionella pneumophila – therapy – Legionnaires’ disease

Sources

1. Winn WC Jr. Legionnaires disease: historical perspective. Clin Microbiol Rev 1988; 1(1): 60–81.

2. Edelstein PH. Legionnaires' disease: history and clinical findings. In: Heuner K, Swanson M (eds.). Legionella: Molecular Microbiology. Caister Academic Press 2008. Dostupné na: https://web.archive.org/web/20100608044408/http://www.open-access-biology.com/legionella/edelstein.html

3. American Association of Justice. The history of Legionnaires' disease. The Legionnaires' Lawyer. Dostupné na: https://thelegionnaireslawyer.com/history-legionnaires-disease/

4. Edelstein PH, Roy CR. Legionnaires' disease and Pontiac fever. In: Bennett JE, Dolin R, Blaser MJ (eds.). Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's principles and practice of infectious diseases. 9th ed. Elsevier 2020 : 2807–2817.

5. Edelstein PH. Legionnaires' disease, Pontiac fever, and related illnesses. In: Cherry JD, Harrison GJ, Kaplan SL, et al. (eds.). Feigin and Cherry's textbook of pediatric infectious diseases. 8th ed. Elsevier 2019 : 1228–1235.

6. Wikipedia. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dostupné na: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centers_for_Disease_Control_and_Prevention

7. Fraser DW, Tsai TR, Orenstein W, et al. Legionnaires' disease: description of an epidemic of pneumonia. N Engl J Med 1977; 297(22): 1189–97.

8. McDade JE, Shepard CC, Fraser DW, et al. Legionnaires' disease: isolation of a bacterium and demonstration of its role in other respiratory disease. N Engl J Med 1977; 297(22): 1197–203.

9. Thacker SB, Bennett JV, Tsai TF, et al. An outbreak in 1965 of severe respiratory illness caused by the Legionnaires' disease bacterium. J Infect Dis 1978; 138(4): 512–9.

10. Jernigan DB, Hofmann J, Cetron MS, et al. Outbreak of Legionnaires' disease among cruise ship passengers exposed to a contaminated whirlpool spa. Lancet 1996; 347(9000): 494–9.

11. Cunha BA. Legionnaires' disease: clinical differentiation from typical and other atypical pneumonias. Infect Dis Clin North Am 2010; 24(1): 73–105.

12. Wikipedia. Legionella. Dostupné na: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legionella