I recall the widespread concern shared amongst the residents of Philadelphia. One reason that the outbreak received extensive media coverage was because the investigators were unable to immediately identify the cause of the mysterious illness. Some people feared a new pandemic was just beginning to spread. What made the disease’s discovery so difficult was the lack of common factors between those affected. While it is true that all those who fell ill were attendees at the Legionnaires’ convention, that fact remained the only consistent factor. Before the disease’s discovery local papers published stories detailing every update regarding the medical investigation. Initially, it was believed to have been a new variation of the flu virus. The swine influenza, which had just been discovered, was a culprit for a time. However, some common symptoms of the flu virus, such as human-to-human transmission and a runny nose, had not been observed. Even all types of metal poisonings had been considered. Medical investigators thought they had finally identified the cause to be nickel poisoning when they found fatal amounts of the metal in tissue samples. Soon after, however, this cause was dismissed when doctors realized they had inadvertently contaminated the tissue samples with their metal tools. Another such mistake was the early rejection of a bacterium as the disease’s cause during the investigation. These kinds of problems plagued the investigation as medical experts scrambled frantically to pin down any clues.

It was not until six months after the first person became sick that investigators identified the bacterium that caused the disease. Interestingly, the bacterium had been isolated twice before in 1947 at the Walter Army Institute in Washington, D.C. What prolonged the bacterium’s identification was the use of penicillin and streptomycin during attempts to inoculate other organisms, such as eggs, with the disease. The purpose was to eliminate external bacterial contaminants during the inoculation. When Dr. Joseph McDade finally decided to ignore the use of antibiotics in order to examine the contaminants he discovered that he had strains of Legionella pneumophila. McDade then conducted dye tests on tissue samples from the Legionnaire outbreak and found the same strains of Legionella pneumophila. By this time the outbreak was over; no new cases had come in and the casualty numbers had been finalized.

The whole experience played out like a mystery novel; every week was a new chapter in the story. At the time the story was only of passing interest due to my proximity to the hotel. I had no idea that years later it would come to be a focus area of my practice. The hotel ultimately went bankrupt due to the outbreak and has since been converted into office space and condominiums. To this day I can still see from my office window the Bellevue-Stratford’s cooling towers where the bacteria colonized.

Two past guests of the EPIC Hotel in Miami, Florida have retained Jules Zacher’s services in regards to their contraction of Legionnaire’s disease. The EPIC Hotel received quite a bit of press in December 2009 and early January 2010 after several guests, including two European travelers, fell ill with Legionnaires’ disease after staying at the hotel. Allegedly, legionella, the bacteria responsible for Legionnaires’ disease, had contaminated the EPIC’s water system due to the installation of a water purification system. Reportedly, the purification system removed all chlorine from the municipal water and allowed legionella to freely colonize the hotel’s water system. The hotel was quickly cleared of the first Legionnaires’ disease case, the death of a cruise ship captain, after it was discovered that his particular strain of legionella was different from those discovered in the EPIC’s water system. However, several cases still remain linked to the EPIC Hotel, including the two currently being represented by Jules Zacher, P.C.
The two guests, a husband and wife travelling together, began feeling ill roughly a week after their final day of stay at the EPIC. Both exhibited common symptoms of legionellosis: fever, dizziness, coughing, body aches, fatigue, and nausea. The husband’s symptoms remained stable and dissipated after he received antibiotics from a healthcare provider. However, his wife’s symptoms quickly grew worse and soon put her in the intensive care unit at a local hospital. Her legionellosis resulted in kidney failure and a week-long stay in the ICU where she battled to remain alive. Now, with significant medical bills, the couple has turned to Mr. Zacher for help.
Miami-Dade health officials have issued an advisory for any recent guests of the property and urge anyone with symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease to contact a health provider immediately. Symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease include cough, fever, head and body aches, and nausea. The bacteria has an incubation period of two to 14 days.
Jules Zacher, P.C. is a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based personal injury firm that specializes in Legionnaires’ disease cases, as well as other catastrophic injuries. Jules Zacher has successfully handled Legionnaires’ disease cases in Arizona, Maryland and Florida, and has appeared before State and Federal Courts. If you or a loved one believe to have contracted Legionnaires’ disease, please contact Jules Zacher, P.C. by completing a case questionnaire at www.LegionnaireLawyer.com, by email at zacherlaw@aol.com, or by phone 215-988-0160.