An article examining the serious long-term health consequences of Legionnaires’ disease was published in the Journal of Infection in late January of this year. The study also looked at health consequences of Q-fever, which causes symptoms similar to Legionnaires disease.
Some of the overlapping symptoms between Legionnaires’ disease and Q-fever include:
- High fevers
- Headache
- Chills
- Non-productive cough
- Chest pain
The study concludes that “Many Q-fever patients and patients with Legionnaires’ disease suffer from a severely affected health status on one or more subdomains at one year after onset of illness.” They go on to recommend that a large proportion of the patient population that develops either illness receive additional support during the first year after they become ill.