European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 27, 1978, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Magazine credited with discovering the cause of and finding an effective treatment of mysterious legionnaires disease doctors Charles c. Shepard left David Fraser Joseph Mcdade. By Patricia Mccormack United press International the legionnaires disease which caused Suchan uproar in 1976 when it broke out at an american legion convention in Philadelphia was Back in the headlines the past two weeks with More than 120suspected cases in new York City. The United states Center for disease control in Atlanta ga., says there have been two deaths in new York City two in Rochester n.y., one in Memphis tenn., one in rut land it and one in Washington . There also Are con firmed cases in Chicago and Dallas. Is it an epidemic How close Are scientists to finding out How it is transmitted what can be done about stamp ing it out in an attempt to answer the third question first new York City tried to wipe out possible pools of bacteria subway stations were scrubbed streets hosed water towers atop buildings treated with chlorine air conditioners turned off for awhile All this in the garment District site of the outbreak. Other questions can it be caught by kissing or hold ing hands suppose your new clothing in months ahead was handled by persons in the garment District who later had the sickness Public health detectives called epidemiologists Are pretty sure the answers to All these last questions Are  Joseph a. Califano jr., the Secretary of health Educa Tion and welfare said in a statement that the very name legionnaires disease is one that worries people be cause it was a Complete mystery when it first swept an american legion convention in Philadelphia in july 1976." that first outbreak produced 221 cases and 34 deaths and gave the disease its name. The situation today is vastly different he said. Now we know the cause and we know of a specific drug that is effective in its  Califano said the curative Antibiotic is erythromycin and assures recovery in the vast majority of  much mystery has been removed and a treatment developed thanks to stunning medical detective work by specialists at the Center for disease control especially or. David Eraser or. Joseph Mcdade and or. Charles c. Shepard. The sleuthing was of course a team Effort but these three made the key plays helping to identify the bacteria responsible for the Philadelphia outbreak within six months by december 1976. The nation and the world expressed Relief when the team found a bacteria that caused the damage Happy that it was something that could be coped with nothing like the  once the noxious germ responsible was identified it was possible to search for it the world Over even in Frozen specimens from. Autopsies of victims of mysterious disease outbreaks. Scientists found evidence of the disease in Many places outside America. Further sleuthing showed there is a treatment there is a diagnostic blood test that s pretty reliable and most important there Are specific symptoms that enable an Alert doctor to Tell the difference Between legionnaires disease arid pneumonia caused by the Neumon Cocci Bug. The treatment that cures or abates the latter kind of pneumonia has Little or no effect on legionnaires Dis ease. That is Why or. William Foege head of the Center for disease control is leading an Effort to inform doctors of the specific treatment and symptoms. In the last several months in addition several Hun dred Laboratory experts from City state private and fed eral diagnostic facilities have attended training courses at the Center for disease control they now form a network capable of running the blood tests necessary to find More precise evidence of legionnaires disease All Over the nation. That is one reason you will be hearing of More cases of the sickness As time goes on. More of it is being diagnosed and reported. There is movement at the Center to make the Dis ease one on which official reports must be made like some other ailments so the United states Public health service can keep tabs on it. In november the first International conference on legionnaires disease will be held at the Atlanta Center sponsored by the world health association the National institutes of health and the Center for disease control. Since the bacteria responsible was isolated almost 500 cases have been confirmed in 41 states and the disease wednesday september 27, 1978 has been identified in Many countries. Scientists believe the actual cases May be Many times higher and that mild cases giving a kind of Protection by producing antibodies May be passed off As a slight cold or feeling  antibodies Are a kind of chemical Soldier produced in the blood in response to an an invasion by bad viruses or germs. The antibodies put the body in fighting condition and help to swat noxious foreign agents. Every virus or bacteria produces its distinct antibodies. By looking at blood samples scientists can Tell in some cases not always whether there Are antibodies to Legionnaire s disease present. The testing process needs some Fine tuning yet say experts at the Center. After making a person feel under the weather the Dis ease produces muscle aches and slight headaches. Less than a Day later come a fever and chills. The fever rises rapidly and by the third Day is in the 102-105 Range. There also May be abdominal pains and Gastro intes tinal symptoms Early in Many of the victims. A Chest x Ray reveals the other vital Tell tale sign Patchy infiltrates in the lungs. Questions and answers about Legionnaire s disease q. What causes the disease a. A bacteria that eluded investigators until scientists at the Center for disease control isolated it using techniques normally employed to identify Rickettsia differ ent from methods used to identify either a germ or a virus. Rickettsia is an illness Causer Between the size of a germ and a virus. The breakthrough discovery within six months of the Philadelphia outbreak is considered by the scientific Community As stunning. The disease in earlier eras of science could have remained a mystery for  Ades. Q. Why do some but not All working or partying or living in the same environment get it a. It is not known but scientists believe some May be More susceptible than others depending on their age smoking habits and state of their health in general and their sex. Incidence among males is Many times higher than among females. Most susceptible probably aging males who smoke. Q. How is the bacteria transmitted to a susceptible human a. Science does not know exactly yet. It is believed air borne and not mixed up with food the Way germs Are that cause food poisoning for example. That belief is Why in the new York outbreak air conditioners were ordered turned off. There is some evidence soil May be contaminated but there Are lots of unanswered questions. It does t seem to be passed from human to human by con tact. Q. Did Legionnaire s disease Ever strike in Ameri Ca before the Philadelphia outbreak in 1976? a. Yes. Once the bacteria was isolated scientists looked for signs of it in Frozen blood specimens kept in a deep freeze after two Mysterio is illness outbreaks unsolved since 1965 and 1968. The verdict the mysterious illness that struck 81 and killed 14 in 1965 at St. Eliza Beth s Hospital in Washington ., was legionnaires disease and so was the outbreak in Pontiac mich., in 1968 that made 144 sick. Q. Was there Legionnaire s disease outside Amer Ica a. Yes. In 1977, examination of Frozen specimens from a 1973 mystery illness among scottish vacationers in be Nidorf Spain showed Legionnaire s disease bacteria was to blame. That sickness hit eight and three died. Q. Were there any previous outbreaks in Philadel phia a. The Center looked at blood samples from some of the Many who were taken ill at a convention of the Odd Fel lows organization in 1974 in Philadelphia. Conclusion it was caused by the same bacteria that struck the Ameri can legion conventioneers. Q. Are there any new leads a. Well there Are Many unanswered questions. Some new information is being looked for via studies of out Breaks in los Angeles and Bloomington ind. These go Back a year. In los Angeles there were 33 cases and six deaths from May 1977 to May 1978. In Bloomington at in Diana University there were 27 cases and three deaths. Q. What Are some of the unanswered questions a. Chiefly How the bacteria maintains itself and moves about in the environment. It has been found in the last several months in water taken from a Creek near Bloomington and from water in an air conditioner collection Tower at the Indiana University student Union. The suspicion among epidemiologists at the Center for disease control is that the bacteria exists fairly univer Sally in the environment and strikes susceptible persons. The stars and stripes Page 13