Although Legionnaires' disease has only recently been recognized as a distinct clinical entity, serologic surveys of localized outbreaks of respiratory illnesses have indicated that its geographic distribution is wide.1-5 Most cases have occurred in clusters, but reports of sporadic cases are increasing.6 The disease appears to be most prevalent among elderly persons or adults undergoing immunosuppressive therapy; it has seldom been documented in children.1,7,8 We report a previously undetected case of Legionnaires' disease in a child with acute lymphocytic leukemia in remission.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
To determine whether Legionnaires' disease had occurred in a childhood cancer population with pneumonia, we reviewed the records of patients between 1 and 18 years of age for whom percutaneous transthoracic lung aspirates had been obtained between April 1970 and December 1977.
Nosocomial Legionnaires' disease in England and Wales, 1980–92
