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This talk is entitled Legionella:
Epidemiology and Human Infection,
Environment and Diagnosis by Diane Lindsay.
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The first documented strain
of the yet-to-be-named
genus Legionella was identified in 1943,
linked to an outbreak of pneumonia.
At that time, it was classed
as a rickettsia-like organism
and given the unusual name Tatlockia.
It was never cultured on conventional media
but grew in the blood of guinea pigs
and hen embryonated yolk-sac
and was viewed microscopically
as a Gram-negative coccobacillus.
In 1976, there was a large outbreak
of a pneumonic illness
linked to the Stratford Bellevue Hotel
in Philadelphia.
At that time, there was a convention
of American legionnaires
staying at the hotel,
and the uncultivable bacteria
was called Legionella,
and the new pneumonic illness
was named Legionnaires' disease
in honor of the hundreds of people affected.
However, it was not until 1977
that a culture medium-buffered
charcoal yeast extract
or BCYE for short was devised
that allowed the growth
of these microorganisms.
Currently, there are over
50 species that have been identified
and Legionella continues
to cause outbreaks worldwide
by the inhalation or aspiration
of a contaminated water source.
In the Philadelphia outbreak,
the Legionella bacteria was traced
to the air conditioning system in the hotel.