Man contracts Legionnaires disease after swimming in lake [Video]

By Stephen Beech

A pensioner caught potentially deadly Legionnaires’ disease from swimming in a lake.

People who take part in open water swimming should be aware that entering lakes with still water can lead to infection with Legionella – bacteria that can cause pneumonia, say doctors.

The 77-year-old patient had visited Iowa and swum in a natural lake two weeks earlier, according to an article published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ).

Over four days of increasing weakness combined with fever, cough, and recurring sudden falls in his home, he went to hospital.

Given his travel activity, doctors suspected legionnaires’ disease after initial standard antibiotic therapy failed to treat his pneumonia.

Although considered rare, Legionnaires’ disease is a growing health concern.

Since 2,000, the number of people developing this disease has been on the rise.

In 2018, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) reported that around 10,000 people in the United States were diagnosed with Legionnaires’ …