Legionnaires' disease acquired its name in July 1976, when an outbreak of pneumonia occurred among people attending a convention of the American Legion at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia. Of the 182 reported cases, mostly men, 29 died. On January 18, 1977, the causative agent was identified as a previously unknown strain of bacteria, subsequently named "Legionella", and the species that caused the outbreak was named "Legionella pneumophila". Outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease receive significant media attention, but this disease usually occurs in single, isolated cases not associated with any recognized outbreak. When outbreaks do occur, they are usually in the summer and
Timeline of the SARS outbreak On the flight, he fell ill and upon arrival in Bangkok told an awaiting friend not to touch him and to call an ambulance to take him to a hospital. He was isolated in an intensive care unit. A similar outbreak of a mysterious respiratory disease was reported among healthcare workers in Hong Kong. On March 12, WHO issued a global alert about a new infectious disease of unknown origin in both Vietnam and Hong Kong. On March 15, WHO issued a heightened global health alert about mysterious pneumonia with a case definition of SARS as after cases in Singapore