1976 Philadelphia Legionnaires' disease outbreak 1976 Philadelphia Legionnaires' disease outbreak The 1976 Legionnaires disease outbreak, occurring in the late summer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was the first occasion in which a cluster of a particular type of pneumonia cases were determined to be caused by the "Legionella pneumophila" bacteria. Previous outbreaks were retroactively diagnosed as being most probably caused by Legionella bacteria. On July 21, 1976, the American Legion opened its annual three-day convention at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. More than 2,000 Legionnaires, mostly men, attended the convention. The date and city were chosen to coincide with America’s celebration of the 200th anniversary of
Hospital-acquired pneumonia day case for regular hemodialysis or intravenous infusion (for example, chemotherapy). Especially in the very old and in demented patients, HCAP is likely to present with atypical symptoms. Among the factors contributing to contracting HAP are mechanical ventilation (ventilator-associated pneumonia), old age, decreased filtration of inspired air, intrinsic respiratory, neurologic, or other disease states that result in respiratory tract obstruction, trauma, (abdominal) surgery, medications, diminished lung volumes, or decreased clearance of secretions may diminish the defenses of the lung. Also, poor hand-washing and inadequate disinfection of respiratory devices cause cross-infection and are important factors. Most nosocomial respiratory infections are caused