The Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in July 1976, when it hosted a statewide convention of the American Legion. Soon after, a pneumonia-like disease killed 29 people and sickened 182 more who had been in the hotel. The vast majority were members of the convention. The negative publicity associated with what became known as "Legionnaires' Disease" caused occupancy at the Bellevue-Stratford to plummet to 4 percent and the hotel finally closed on November 18, 1976. In 1977, Dr. Joseph McDade discovered a new bacterium, which was identified as the causative organism. It thrives in hot, damp places like the water of the cooling towers for the
Pneumonia increased risk of getting pneumococcal disease. The pneumococcal vaccine has been shown to reduce the risk of community acquired pneumonia in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but does not reduce mortality or the risk of hospitalization for people with this condition. People with COPD are suggested to have a pneumococcal vaccination. Other vaccines for which there is support for a protective effect against pneumonia include pertussis, varicella, and measles. When influenza outbreaks occur, medications such as amantadine or rimantadine may help prevent the condition; however are associated with side effects. Zanamivir or oseltamivir decrease the chance that people