Academic research
Legionnaires' Disease: Description of an Epidemic of Pneumonia
New England Journal of Medicine
Where this source supports the record
Each entry separates the article’s editorial relevance note from its exact, section-level claims. A bibliography link without a direct claim is labeled plainly.
-
Epidemics & public health · 21 July–August 1976Open article references →
The 1976 Legionnaires' Disease Outbreak
Bellevue-Stratford Hotel convention site · United States
Why editors use it herePeer-reviewed original epidemiologic description of the Philadelphia outbreak.
-
Quick read
After an American Legion convention at Philadelphia's Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in July 1976, attendees developed severe pneumonia.
Reviewed 26 July 2026 -
Trigger and conditions
Within days of the convention, attendees experienced fever, cough, chest pain, and rapidly worsening pneumonia.
Reviewed 26 July 2026 -
Uncertainty
The standard count is 182 cases and twenty-nine deaths, but early reports and later retrospective definitions differ.
Reviewed 26 July 2026 -
Why it matters
The investigation shows how finding a new pathogen depends on disciplined case definitions, maps, preserved specimens, and willingness to revisit discarded evidence.
Reviewed 26 July 2026
-
Quick read