Ep 77 - Drops of Knowledge

The Deadly Dose

In the late summer of 1976, a mysterious disease swept through the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Hundreds of members of the American Legion, which was holding its annual convention within the Bellevue-Stratford, and several unaffiliated civilians fell ill. The disease took 29 lives. The outbreak was an epidemiological mystery that stumped the CDC for months. What was causing these illnesses and where in the hotel was it coming from? Join us in Epidemiology 101 as Harini details the discovery of Legionnaire’s Disease.

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Episode Sources:

• Image 1: From left to right - The Bellvue Stratford Hotel, Legionella bacteria, CDC toxicology team investigating the outbreak (via PhillyMag)
• Image 2: A Chest X-Ray of a patient with Legionnaire’s Disease with lungs like a “brillo pad” (via Special Pathogens Lab)
• Image 3: A veteran in the hospital with a mysterious disease (via The Washington Post)
• Forensic Files Season 1 Episode 7
• https://www.osha.gov/legionnaires-disease
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK7619/
• Medical Microbiology 4th Edition - Chapter 40 on Legionella

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