Legionnaires’ disease, once ‘the greatest epidemiological puzzle of the century,’ kills four in N.Y.

By Sarah Kaplan August 3 at 6:27 AM  

Stephen Thacker, right, of the U.S. Center for Disease Control, interviews Thomas Payne in Chambersburg Hospital in Pennsylvania on Aug. 4, 1976. Payne was one of the Legionnaires who became ill after attending a state convention in Philadelphia. (Associated Press)

Four decades ago it was one of medicine’s greatest mysteries, devastating a group of convention goers with shocking speed and leaving scientists scratching their heads about its cause.

Now Legionnaires’ disease is back in the news, having killed four and sickened more than five dozen others in New York, with more diagnoses likely on the way.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/08/03/legionnaires-disease-once-the-greatest-epidemiological-puzzle-of-the-century-kills-four-in-n-y/