Healthylifefriend.com

This is on the top of the news after the disease found in Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. The first time I saw the name, I though it is a name for a game or something. You don’t name disease that cool, you give them bad name to know that they are bad. Okay, enough ranting, what is legionnaires disease?

It is a disease that are caused by a bacteria called Legionella pneumophila, infected by the bacteria can cause either legionnaire disease or pontiac fever. Pontiac fever is a mild pneumonia and generally harmless. Legionnaire disease however can be deathly if not treated immediately.

You can’t get infected from person to person contact. The bacteria lurk in the water and in order to get infected you need to inhale the water in form of mist to get it. So if you take long shower or using ‘bubblemakers’ or whirlpool jets in a bath tub then you can get infected by the bacteria.

The incubation period for the disease are between 2 to 10 days, but there are cases that took 16 days for the incubation. After the incubation, the symptoms like these start to appear: fever, loss of appetite, headache, malaise, muscle pain, diarrhea, lethargy and confusion.

Is it deadly? Yes, if it goes untreated. If it is treated immediately then the chance of mortality become less than 5 percent. If it is not treated for some time then the chance of mortality become 50 percent.

posted: 11 July 15
under: Medical information