Pontiac fever is an acute, nonfatal respiratory disease caused by various species of Gram-negative bacteria in the genus Legionella. It causes a mild upper respiratory infection that resembles acute influenza. Pontiac fever resolves spontaneously and often goes undiagnosed. Both Pontiac fever and the more severe Legionnaire's disease may be caused by the same bacterium, but Pontiac fever does not include pneumonia.
Coccidioidomycosis, is a mammalian fungal disease caused by Coccidioides immitis or Coccidioides posadasii. It is commonly known as cocci, Valley fever, as well as California fever, desert rheumatism, or San Joaquin Valley fever. Coccidioidomycosis is endemic in certain parts of the United States in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and northern Mexico.
Legionella is a genus of pathogenic gram-negative bacteria that includes the species L. pneumophila, causing legionellosis including a pneumonia-type illness called Legionnaires' disease and a mild flu-like illness called Pontiac fever.
Legionella pneumophila is an aerobic, pleomorphic, flagellated, non-spore-forming, Gram-negative bacterium. There are fourteen serotypes of L. pneumophila.L. pneumophila is a facultative intracellular parasite that infects soil amoebae and freshwater amoeboflagellates for replication. This pathogen is thus found commonly near freshwater environments and invades the unicellular life, using them to carry out metabolic functions. Due to L. pneumophila’s ability to thrive in water, it can grow in water filtration systems, leading to faucets, showers, and other fixtures and then spread through aerosolized water droplets.
The Legionellales are an order of Pseudomonadota ("Proteobacteria"). Like all Pseudomonadota, they are Gram-negative. They comprise two families, typified by Legionella and Coxiella, both of which include notable pathogens. For example, Q fever is caused by Coxiella burnetii and Legionella pneumophila causes Legionnaires' disease and Pontiac fever.
Cryptosporidium, sometimes called crypto, is an apicomplexan genus of alveolates which are parasites that can cause a respiratory and gastrointestinal illness (cryptosporidiosis) that primarily involves watery diarrhea, sometimes with a persistent cough.
Potting soil or growing media, also known as potting mix or potting compost (UK), is a substrate used to grow plants in containers. The first recorded use of the term is from an 1861 issue of the American Agriculturist. Despite its name, little or no soil is usually used in potting soil.
NmVac4-A/C/Y/W-135 is the commercial name of the polysaccharide vaccine against the bacterium that causes meningococcal meningitis. The product, by JN-International Medical Corporation, is designed and formulated to be used in developing countries for protecting populations during meningitis disease epidemics.
Airborne transmission or aerosol transmission is transmission of an infectious disease through small particles suspended in the air. Infectious diseases capable of airborne transmission include many of considerable importance both in human and veterinary medicine. The relevant infectious agent may be viruses, bacteria, or fungi, and they may be spread through breathing, talking, coughing, sneezing, raising of dust, spraying of liquids, flushing toilets, or any activities which generate aerosol particles or droplets.
Influenza prevention involves taking steps that one can use to decrease their chances of contracting flu viruses, such as the Pandemic H1N1/09 virus, responsible for the 2009 flu pandemic.
A fomite or fomes is any inanimate object that, when contaminated with or exposed to infectious agents, can transfer disease to a new host.
Transmission-based precautions are infection-control precautions in health care, in addition to the so-called "standard precautions". They are the latest routine infection prevention and control practices applied for patients who are known or suspected to be infected or colonized with infectious agents, including certain epidemiologically important pathogens, which require additional control measures to effectively prevent transmission. Universal precautions are also important to address as far as transmission-based precautions. Universal precautions is the practice of treating all bodily fluids as if it is infected with HIV, HBV, or other blood borne pathogens.
The 1976 Legionnaires' disease outbreak, occurring in the late summer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States at an annual American Legion convention, was the first occasion in which a cluster of a particular type of pneumonia cases were determined to be caused by the Legionella pneumophila bacteria. Previous outbreaks were retroactively diagnosed as being most probably caused by Legionella bacteria.
Legionella anisa is a Gram-negative bacterium, one of more than 40 species in the family Legionellaceae. After Legionella pneumophila, this species has been isolated most frequently from water samples. This species is also one of the several pathogenic forms of Legionella having been associated with rare clinical cases of illness including Pontiac fever and Legionnaires' disease.
Legionnaires' disease is a form of atypical pneumonia caused by any species of Legionella bacteria, quite often Legionella pneumophila. Signs and symptoms include cough, shortness of breath, high fever, muscle pains, and headaches. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may also occur. This often begins 2–10 days after exposure.
In 2015, there were two outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease in the Bronx, New York City, United States. Between January and August 2015, one hundred and thirty people in New York City were infected with Legionnaires', but the majority of them were in the Bronx.
The 2022 Tucumán legionellosis outbreak refers to an epidemic that originated in San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina. It was first identified on Saturday, 20 August 2022, when 7 people arrived at the Tucumán Hospital with fever, malaise, shortness of breath, and headache.
Patricia Priest is a New Zealand public health scientist and epidemiologist who is Professor of Public Health in Medicine at the University of Otago. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Priest served as an advisor to the New Zealand Ministry of Health. She was awarded an Ig Nobel Prize in 2010. As of 2024 Priest is the Acting Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the Division of Health Sciences at the university.
Infectious disease on cruise ships is a hazard associated with cruises. Outbreaks of contagious diseases can spread quickly due to the confined cruise ship environment, reliance on shared spaces, the lack of healthcare facilities, and the large number of passengers and crew members from disparate points of origin.
