Atlanta Rewind: CDC isolates Legionnaires' Disease in 1977

Metro Atlanta

PHOTOS: After 29 people died in Pennsylvania from a mysterious illness during the summer of 1976, the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control began a investigation into what Americans feared would become a full-scale epidemic.

On January 14, 1977, the director of the Centers for Disease Control's Laboratory Division, Charles Shepard, M.D. (right), and microbiologist Dr. McDade (left), isolated the agent that had caused the Legionnaires’ outbreak of 1976 that killed 29 people in Pennsylvania and severely sickened over 200 more. The Atlanta-based CDC led the 1976-77 investigation into what was causing the outbreak. -- Text from the CDC and AJC

The lead story on the August 6, 1976, Atlanta Constitution front page speculated that a "rare virus" or "poison" possibly was the cause of 23 deaths in Pennsylvania. One Pennsylvania doctor suspected poison, possible "some kind of natural toxin," as the killer sickness that was already being called "Legionnaire's disease." Swine flu, influenza and funguses had already been ruled out as the deadly culprit.

This 1978 photo shows Centers for Disease Control laboratorian George Gorman (left) along with Dr. Jim Feeley while they were examining culture plates, i.e., Petri dishes, upon which the first environmental isolates of Legionella pneumophils had been grown. -- Text by the CDC

Legionella pneumophila bacteria, as seen at a magnification of 12000X via a scanning electron micrograph. Although this type of bacteria was around before 1976, more illness from Legionnaires’ disease is being detected now since the CDC and medical professionals are now looking for the disease whenever a patient has pneumonia.

A large grouping of Gram-negative Legionella pneumophila bacteria is shown here at 8000X magnification. "After Legionella grows and multiplies in a building water system, that contaminated water then has to spread in droplets small enough for people to breathe in. People are exposed to Legionella when they breathe in mist (small droplets of water in the air) containing the bacteria. One example might be from breathing in droplets sprayed from a hot tub that has not been properly cleaned and disinfected," the CDC notes.

In January 1977, the CDC announced that a "bacteria-like organism has quite definitely been associated" with what was then described as the "mystery illness" that sickened 221 and killed 34 people. There was more work for the agency to do, but CDC Director David Sencer told the AJC that "at least we have a start."

The first identified cases of Pontiac fever occurred in 1968 in Pontiac, Michigan, among people who worked at and visited the city’s health department. It wasn’t until Legionella was discovered after the 1976 outbreak in Philadelphia that public health officials were able to show that the same bacterium causes both diseases. -- Text by the CDC

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On January 14, 1977, the director of the Centers for Disease Control's Laboratory Division, Charles Shepard, M.D. (right), and microbiologist Dr. McDade (left), isolated the agent that had caused the Legionnaires’ outbreak of 1976 that killed 29 people in Pennsylvania and severely sickened over 200 more. The Atlanta-based CDC led the 1976-77 investigation into what was causing the outbreak. -- Text from the CDC and AJC

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