Legionella pneumophilia

Legionella pneumophila is a Gram-negative rod that was big in 1976 when America was celebrating the 200th anniversary of the independence. There were many legionnaires-war veterans celebrating patriotism in hotels of Philadelphia (Bellevue Stratford Hotel). During the weekend many legionnaires got sick over 30 people died

People suspected terrorists but the CDC came in searching for the cause and found a small G- rod that causes atypical pneumonia (in the lungs). It was believed that the organisms came from the air conditioning because this organism can survive in cool water which is present in air conditioning. In addition, Legionella is common in cruises and fogging machines, and is often associated with amoebas.

It mainly infects males over age of 50, and the ID 50 is only 1 rod through droplet transmission.

Treatment
DOC is Azithromycin