Legionnaires' disease story is very personal for one journalist
- viet tran
- Jan 31, 2017
- 2 min read
This story comes from a journalist point of view, and how he reacts to a event that just occurred in the area. This event all started with a convention that was being held in "Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia"(Carpenter,2013). Mostly veterans were attending the "American Legion bicentennial convention," however tragedy in the form of "water -borne germs" otherwise known Legionnaires disease ( named by the CDC) infected most of the veterans that were at the convention. (Carpenter 2013). This was caused by the "air conditioner from the hotel and was in a form of a mist" (Carpenter 2013). A similar situation that happened in the "Integrated Health Campus in South Whitehall Township," the bacteria were also spread as a mist from a foundation. (Carpenter 2013) One by one each veteran that came down with the disease died, and this event was recorded in every newspaper which was sent across the nation . "Dozens of out breaks happen all over the world" because of this deadly disease. Bellevue Stratford hotel was shut down as result of this tragedy.
"Legionnaires’ disease is caused by breathing in small water droplets that are contaminated with Legionella germs. Most people who get sick need hospital care and make a full recovery; however, about 1 in 10 people will die from the infection."(CDC 2016) This disease is caused by unclean showers, air conditioning, hot tubs, etc, usually if hotels, long term care buildings, and hospitals don't keep their these places clean then these bacteria develop. (CDC 2016) Bacteria only needs two things to develop and grow, any place that is dark and/ or any place that is damp. These places if not handle properly are great places for bacteria to grow. After the incident that happen in Philadelphia, hotel managers and caretakers are more careful about their water systems and air conditioning, therefore lessening the chance of this outbreak happening again.
Work Cited
Carpenter, Paul. "Legionnaires' disease story is very personal." Tribunedigital-mcall. N.p., 02 Nov. 2013. Web. 31 Jan. 2017.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 27 June 2016. Web. 31 Jan. 2017.
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