Legionnaire's Disease, A Simple Guide To The Condition, Treatment And Related Conditions

By Kenneth Kee

Legionnaire disease is an infection of the lungs and airways caused by Legionella bacteria.
Legionnaire's Disease is an acute, infectious disease of the respiratory tract caused by the bacillus Legionella pneumophilia, a Gram negative, non-sporulating aerobic micro-organism.
The bacteria that cause Legionnaire disease have been found in water delivery systems.
They can survive in the warm, moist air conditioning systems of large buildings including hospitals.
Most cases are caused by the bacteria Legionella pneumophila.
The rest of the cases are caused by other Legionella species.
The bacteria are found mostly in soil and water.
Legionnaire's Disease is transmitted through the air or in dust associated with movement of soil or contaminated air from air conditioner units.
It is highly infectious
The organism enters the blood and then enters the cells of the lower respiratory tract
The infections occur in persons of all ages but peak incidence is 50-60 years.
Symptoms start off with:
1. Sudden onset of malaise - General discomfort, uneasiness or ill feeling (malaise)
2. High fever 39-40 degrees centigrade
3. Chills and rigors
4. Headache
5. Dry coughs (Cough that does not produce much sputum or mucus)
Diagnosis is from sputum culture or indirect legionna bacterial antibody (>1.256).
Treatment is by antibiotics e.g., ciprofloraxin, erythromycin
Besides antibiotics, the following will help:
1. Oxygen and Steam inhalation
2. Cough mixtures
3. Avoid smokes, dust, dry air, sudden temperature change
The earlier the illness is treated with antibiotic medication, the better the likely outcome.
The illness is serious and can be fatal, but it is not contagious
The source of the germs (bacteria) in an outbreak is usually a man-made water distribution system where the bacteria have multiplied in great numbers.
Warm storage tanks where the water stagnates are ideal for legionella bacteria to multiply.
The bacteria thrive in water temperatures between 25°C and 45°C - about 35°C is the optimum temperature.
This means that Legionnaires' disease can be caught from:
a. Piped water especially hot water, in large buildings where long runs of pipe work can be a source of the bacteria.
b. Circulating water droplets in air-conditioning and cooling systems, cooling towers and evaporative condensers.
c. Whirlpool spas
d. Nebulizers and humidifiers (including some types of breathing equipment) if topped up with contaminated tap water
Sources where temperatures allow the bacteria to thrive include hot-water tanks, cooling towers and evaporative condensers of large air-conditioning systems such as those commonly found in hotels and large office buildings.

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Legionnaire's Disease
Chapter 2 Interesting Facts of Legionnaire's Disease
Chapter 3 Treatment of Legionnaire's Disease
Chapter 4 Pneumonia
Chapter 5 Tuberculosis
Chapter 6 Mycoplasma
Chapter 7 Bronchitis
Epilogue

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: Nov 18, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370657209

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

Legionnaire's

Disease,

A

Simple

Guide

To

The Condition,

Treatment

And

Related Conditions

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2014 Smashwords Edition

Published By Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

To my wife Dorothy

And my children

Carolyn, Grace

And Kelvin

This book describes the disease Legionnaire's Disease and Its Treatments and Related Diseases or in vernacular terms

(What You Need to treat Legionnaire's Disease)

This eBook is licensed for the personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

Ode to Legionnaire's Disease

Legionnaire's Disease is an infectious bacterial disease

Legionnaire's Disease is an infection that can occur at any age.

It is an air-borne virus that infects the lungs and airways cells

The bacteria is found in soil and air conditioner water wells

The first symptom may be general discomfort, uneasiness or ill feeling.

There may be tiredness and difficulty in breathing

There may be high fever of 39-40 degrees centigrade

There are dry coughs, backache, joint pain and headache

The lung may produce abnormal sounds called crackles

A reliable urine antigen test will only detect Legionella pneumophila

Cultures on sputum can also identify the Legionella bacteria

Thefull blood count shows moderate leucytosis with lymphopenia

Most people with Legionnaire's Disease will recover from their illness.

Untreated Legionnaire's Disease patients may have pneumonia a serious sickness

Treatment consists of antibiotics Rifampicin, erythromycin and Azithromycin.

Pulmonary care such as nebulizer, oxygen will help the difficulty in breathing

-An original poem by Kenneth Kee

Interesting Tips about the Legionnaire's Disease

A Healthy Lifestyle

1. Take a well Balanced Diet

2. Treatment of Legionairre's Disease:

Isolation in hospital is unnecessary.

Antibiotics are used to fight the infection.

Treatment is started as soon as Legionnaire disease is suspected without waiting for results of any lab test.

Other treatments may include receiving fluids and oxygen which is given through a mask or breathing machine.

a. Antibiotics (erythromycin or rifampicin) are used in the treatment of Legionnaire's Disease.

b. Tetracycline can be given

c. Pulmonary care -nebulizer, oxygen, and deep breathing exercises may be necessary if there is breathing difficulty

Besides antibiotics, the following will help:

a. Steam inhalation

b. Cough mixtures

c. Avoid smokes, dust, dry air, sudden temperature change

3. Keep bones and body strong

Bone marrow produces our blood

Eat foods rich in calcium like yogurt, cheese, milk, and dark green vegetables.

Eat foods rich in Vitamin D, like eggs, fatty fish, cereal, and fortified milk.

Eat food rich in Vitamins B and C such as green vegetables and fruits

Zinc and other minerals are important to the body

4. Get enough rest and Sleep

Avoid stress and tension

5. Exercise and stay active.

It is best to do weight-bearing exercise such as walking, jogging, stair climbing, dancing, or lifting weights for 2½ hours a week.

One way to do this is to be active 30 minutes a day at least 5 days a week.

Begin slowly especially if a person has not been active.

6. Do not drink more than 2 alcohol drinks a day for a man or 1 alcohol drink a day for a woman.

Alcohol use also increases the chance of falling and breaking a