Legionnaires' disease was uncovered 50 years ago but mystery still remains
Fifty years after the first outbreak of Legionnaires' disease at a Philadelphia hotel, cases are rising globally despite medical advancements. Experts remain uncertain about the reasons behind the resurgence of this bacterial infection.
Why it matters
Understanding the persistence and spread of Legionnaires' disease is critical for public health policy and hospital infection control.
The US CDC discovered a new disease caused by bacteria after investigating the mysterious deaths of American Legion members. ( Supplied: US CDC )
Link copied Share Share article In July 1976, thousands of veterans gathered for a meeting of the American Legion at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia.
A few days later, a retired US Air Force captain died of an apparent heart attack.
Within a week, another eight men were dead. More were sick with fevers, shortness of breath and chest pains.
"This was big news that these war veterans were being sickened," says Robert Promisloff, a clinical professor emeritus of medicine at Drexel University in Philadelphia.
The disease came to be called Legionnaires' disease, after the American Legions who fell ill.
Fifty years on, cases of the deadly disease appear to be rising around the world, and experts are not certain why.
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