Host Susceptibility

Anyone who has been exposed to the Legionella pneumophila bacterium can become ill, and develop Legionellosis or Legionnaire's Disease. However, certain people are more susceptible to the disease than others. For example, healthy young children and adults have a very small chance of becoming ill. This is because their defenses are usually in good enough condition so that the bacteria does not reach the lung, and hitherto colonize it. Here are a few of the individuals that have a likelihood of being invaded by this pathogen⁵:

• elderly people (generally over the age of fifty years)
• males (three times more likely to infected than females)
• smokers
• persons with immunosuppressed systems such as:

  • people who have had an organ transplant
  • malignancy and immunosuppression due to drugs
  • diabetes
  • chronic renal failure
  • people with cancer
  • people with the HIV virus
  • alcoholism

Go Home