Legionnaires' Disease News and Research

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Legionnaires’ disease is a microbial infection of the lungs that can be potentially life threatening. It is caused by the legionella bacteria.

Legionnaires’ disease scare in Bali: Australian tourists warned

Commonwealth chief medical officer Jim Bishop has warned Australians who have returned from Bali on an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease on the popular Indonesian resort island. The Australian health authorities knew of 11 cases of Legionnaires’ disease detected in Victorians and Western Australians after holidays in the Kuta area of Bali between August 2010 and January 2011.

19 Jan 2011

Legionnaires' disease kills a 66 year old

There has been a death with Legionnaire’s disease in Doncaster. This disease is caused by bacteria that infects people when they breathe in infested water droplets, such as spray drifts from cooling towers.

3 Jun 2010

Congressman’s visit to The American Legion beneficial to veterans

During a recent visit to The American Legion headquarters here, U.S. Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., said that the maintenance of high quality health care for veterans is at the very top of his list of priorities. Within a week, Filner, who is chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, has demonstrated his advocacy and response to Legion concerns by introducing legislation long championed by the Legion that would materially aid Medicare-eligible vets.

6 Aug 2009

Bioinformatics sheds light on evolutionary origin of Rickettsia virulence genes

Scientists from the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech, the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and the University of Louisville have revealed that genes for a specific type of molecular secretion system in Rickettsia, a structure that is linked in many cases to virulence, have been conserved over many years of evolution.

11 Mar 2009

Discovery of novel ways to halt the spread of antibiotic resistance

Scientists have identified the structure of a key component of the bacteria behind such diseases as whooping cough, peptic stomach ulcers and Legionnaires' disease.

9 Jan 2009

Scientists uncover molecule that keeps pathogens like salmonella in check

Scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found a potential new way to stop the bacteria that cause gastroenteritis, tularemia and severe diarrhea from making people sick.

21 Aug 2008

New insights into Legionella pneumophila

A study published online in Genome Research (www.genome.org) describes new insights into Legionella pneumophila, the bacteria responsible for most cases of Legionnaires' disease.

7 Feb 2008

Environmental tests help predict hospital-acquired Legionnaires' disease risk

A new study spearheaded by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine has determined that environmental monitoring of institutional water systems can help to predict the risk of hospital-acquired Legionella pneumonia, better known as Legionnaires disease.

24 Aug 2007

Foot and mouth spreads even further in the UK

It now appears that the foot-and-mouth outbreak in England has spread outside the protection zone, dashing any hopes that the disease had been contained.

12 Aug 2007

Legionnaires' disease in Surrey with links to Institute of Animal Health at Pirbright

The Health Protection Agency can confirm that its Surrey Health Protection Unit is involved in an investigation with the Health and Safety Executive and local environmental health officers of a reported case of Legionnaires' disease with alleged links to the Institute of Animal Health at Pirbright, in Surrey .

12 Aug 2007

Summer's here so look out for Legionnaires disease

Summer's here and the living isn't always so easy especially if youre in the hospital. Patients who are vulnerable to infection run a greater risk of contracting Legionnaires disease, a severe form of pneumonia, during warm, humid weather, according to a study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

28 Jun 2007

Scientists show how MRSA sidesteps hospital protection measures

The MRSA 'superbug' evades many of the measures introduced to combat its spread by infecting a common single-celled organism found almost everywhere in hospital wards, according to new research published in the journal Environmental Microbiology.

1 Mar 2006

Boys are almost twice as likely as girls to burn themselves

Boys are almost twice as likely as girls to burn themselves and children under three face particular risks, according to research published in the February issue of Journal of Clinical Nursing.

17 Feb 2006

Three dead in New Zealand from legionnaires' disease

Three people have died in an outbreak of legionnaires' disease in Christchurch, New Zealand.

9 Aug 2005

Hospital kept presence of Legionnaires' disease a secret

A Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center battled for over a year to treat Legionnaires' disease bacteria in its water pipes but omitted telling patients or employees to take precautions.

21 Jun 2005

Outbreak of Legionnaires' disease at New York hospital

After four patients contracted Legionnaires' disease at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, the state Health Department says appropriate steps have been taken to safeguard patients and staff from an outbreak of the disease.

23 Apr 2005

Diseases caused by the environment

While many infectious diseases are caused by human-to-human transmission, others are caused by microorganisms that exist in the outside environment.

6 Mar 2005

Researchers have decoded the genome of Legionella pneumophila, the bacteria responsible for Legionnaires' disease

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have decoded the genome of Legionella pneumophila, the bacteria responsible for Legionnaires' disease, and have found a few surprises in the bug's 3,000 genes.

28 Sep 2004

Serious concerns about spa pools and jacuzzis being a cause of Legionnaires’ disease

A new study by Britain's Health Protection Agency has raised serious concerns about spa pools and jacuzzis being a cause of Legionnaires’ disease because they are not managed or maintained properly.

14 Sep 2004

Scientists have unraveled the behavior of one key component of bacteria

The researchers studied a mechanism of action they call the "magic spot" – an important regulator of gene expression. They describe their results in the current issue of the journal Cell.

29 Apr 2004