Legionnaires' Disease

Disinfection Could Cut Outbreaks

Published in Medical Letter on the CDC and FDA, February 1st, 1999

Treating drinking water with a long-acting form of chlorine, called monochloramine, could significantly lower the number of outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease, reported U.S. investigators in The Lancet.

Legionnaires' disease was first identified in 1976 after an outbreak of a mysterious pneumonia among people attending a convention of the American Legion, a U.S. veterans' group. Researchers now estimated that Legionella species may be the third or fourth most common cause of community-acquired pneumonia. The fatality rate in outbreaks can run as high as 40 percent.

The Legionella bacteria that cause the disease commonly live in lakes and streams in...

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Source: Medical Letter on the CDC and FDA (1999-02-01)

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