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18/01/1977 Scientists identify cause of the Legionnaires' disease

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Legionella Bacteria

Legionnaires' disease was first observed in 1976 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Among attendees of an American Legion convention held at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel. 182 attendees contracted the disease and 29 of them died. A year later the causative agent was identified as a previously unknown bacterium subsequently named Legionella.
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