1976 Philadelphia Legionnaires' disease outbreak failed. The disease was finally produced in guinea pigs. The CDC announced the discovery at a press conference on January 18, 1977. The bacterium was later named "Legionella pneumophila". "Legionella pneumophila" is the most common cause, but sometimes other species of Legionella bacteria also cause Legionnaires' disease. The terms "Philadelphia fever" and "Legion fever" appear to have been used at the time of the outbreak and for shortly thereafter, although at least one 2008 source which covers disease in a historical narrative sense also included "Legion Fever" as alternate name. Both the World Health Organization in 2018 and the United
1976 Philadelphia Legionnaires' disease outbreak the signing of the US Declaration of Independence at Philadelphia in 1776. On July 27, three days after the convention ended, Legionnaire Ray Brennan, a 61-year-old retired US Air Force captain and an American Legion bookkeeper, died at his home of an apparent heart attack. Brennan had returned home from the convention on the evening of July 24 complaining of feeling tired. On July 30, another Legionnaire, Frank Aveni, aged 60, also died of an apparent heart attack, as did three other Legionnaires. All of them had been convention attendees. Twenty-four hours later, on August 1, six more Legionnaires died.