Legionnaire’s disease is widely known in this country as a potentially deadly disease if not treated correctly and quickly. Many people, who attended the American Legion Convention that was held in Philly in 1976, learned how serious the disease can be. According the Lawrence Altman, many people who attended fell ill not too long of being in the hotel that was hosting this convention (Altman). The CDC sent out 20 epidemiologists to Philly to investigate the mysterious outbreak. When the epidemiologist asked the different patients a series of questions regarding their symptoms and when they first fell ill, they then sent the information to Harrisburg, PA to be further investigated. According to Altman, it took the team about six months to determine the cause of the fatal disease (Altman). When the team came back to CDC headquarters in Atlanta during Christmas time, many criticized the team and the main investigator in charge because of how long it was taking them to figure out what the cause of this illness that took over Philly.

The following month, Dr. McDade and his team discovered that there was previous research on this particular bacterium in regards to animals but not in humans. This research was being done at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Washington dating back as early as 1947 (Altman). In the article, Altman states how Dr. McDade discovered earlier outbreaks in both Washington and Michigan; later discovering the bacterium in late January 1977. They soon came out with antibiotics to treat the disease. At the end of the investigation, the CDC documented 221 cases and 34 deaths (Altman).  We now know that these bacteria live in moist areas that have the potential to oxidize metals such as shower heads and large air conditioning units.