{"id":4135,"date":"2018-08-21T19:40:39","date_gmt":"2018-08-21T19:40:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/?p=4135"},"modified":"2018-08-21T19:44:38","modified_gmt":"2018-08-21T19:44:38","slug":"what-you-should-know-about-legionnaires-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/what-you-should-know-about-legionnaires-disease\/","title":{"rendered":"What You Should Know About Legionnaire&#8217;s Disease"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/legionnares-486818448.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-4136\" src=\"https:\/\/www.flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/legionnares-486818448-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Legionnaire's Disease \" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/legionnares-486818448-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/legionnares-486818448-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/legionnares-486818448-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/legionnares-486818448.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Legionella is a type of bacterium that is typically found in freshwater environments; however, it can also grow in man-made water systems such as cooling towers for industrial air conditioning mechanisms, grocery store misting machines, decorative fountains, as well as hot water tanks and heaters.<\/p>\n<p>Exposure to Legionella is known to cause legionnaire\u2019s disease which is a severe form of pneumonia.\u00a0 This disease can develop after a person breathes in small droplets of water contaminated by bacteria.\u00a0 Infection may also occur through aspiration -when water accidentally gets into the lungs while drinking.<\/p>\n<p>Legionnaire\u2019s disease usually develops between two to 10 days after exposure to legionella. The most common symptoms include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Coughing<\/li>\n<li>Fever<\/li>\n<li>Shortness of breath<\/li>\n<li>Muscle aches<\/li>\n<li>Chills<\/li>\n<li>Headaches<\/li>\n<li>Chest pain<\/li>\n<li>Gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea or vomiting<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Some people are more prone to develop legionnaire\u2019s disease than others. Individuals who are most at risk include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Smokers<\/li>\n<li>Adults who are 50 years of age \u00a0and older<\/li>\n<li>People with weakened immune systems<\/li>\n<li>Those who have a chronic lung disease<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Treatment of legionnaire\u2019s disease involves the administration of antibiotics and may require hospitalization.\u00a0 If symptoms are left untreated they can develop into life-threatening conditions such as septic shock, respiratory failure and acute kidney failure.<\/p>\n<p>Legionnaire\u2019s disease can be prevented. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), \u201cthe key to preventing Legionnaires\u2019 disease is to make sure that building owners and managers maintain building water systems.\u201d \u00a0Smokers are also advised to quit smoking, as this can reduce their risk.<\/p>\n<p>To learn more about Legionnaire&#8217;s disease please visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/legionella\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/legionella\/index.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"disclaimer\">All content of this newsletter is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.  Please consult a medical professional before adopting any of the suggestions on this page.   You must never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment based upon any content of this newsletter.<strong>  PROMPTLY CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN OR CALL 911 IF YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.<\/strong> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Legionella is a type of bacterium that is typically found in freshwater environments; however, it can also grow in man-made water systems such as cooling towers for industrial air conditioning mechanisms, grocery store misting machines, decorative fountains, as well as &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/what-you-should-know-about-legionnaires-disease\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[1517],"class_list":["post-4135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pulmonary-medicine","tag-legionnaires-disease"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4135"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4135\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4137,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4135\/revisions\/4137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flushinghospital.org\/newsletter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}