Legionella: "A rose is a rose . . . ."
Authors: ALBERT BALOWS
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1980)

Editorial Notes1 August 1980Legionella: "A rose is a rose . . . ."ALBERT BALOWS, PH.D.ALBERT BALOWS, PH.D.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-93-2-366 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptIn the early days of medical bacteriology, it was common practice to refer to a specific bacterium by naming it after the person who first described or isolated it. Thus, Koch's bacillus was the etiologic agent of tuberculosis, the Klebs-Loeffler's bacillus caused diphtheria, and the Shiga bacillus was responsible for the scourge known as bacillary dysentery. This practice gained momentum and might well have continued to be the accepted way of naming and referring to different bacteria if Neisser had not come along with his discovery of the coccus that causes gonorrhoea!Even if my suspicions are incorrect, it soon...References1. COWAN S. Principles and practice of bacterial taxonomy—a forward look. J Gen Microbiol. 1965;39:143-53. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. BRENNERSTEIGERWALTMCDADE DAJ. Classification of the Legionnaires' disease bacterium: Legionella pneumophila genus novum, species nova, of the family Legionellaceae, familia nova. Ann Intern Med. 1979;90:656-8. LinkGoogle Scholar3. LAPAGESNEATHLESSELSKERMANSEELIGERCLARK SPEVHW eds. International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria and Statutes of the International Committee on Systematic Bacteriology and Statutes of the Bacteriology Section of the International Association of Microbiological Societies Washington, D.C.: American Society for Microbiology, 1975. Google Scholar4. MCDADESHEPARDFRASERTSAIREDUSDOWDLE JCDTMW. Legionnaires' disease: isolation of a bacterium and demonstration of its role in other respiratory disease. N Engl J Med. 1977;297:1197-1203. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. MCDADEBRENNERBOZEMAN JDF. Legionnaires' disease bacterium isolated in 1947. Ann Intern Med. 1979;90:659-61. LinkGoogle Scholar6. THOMASONHARRISHICKLINBLACKMONMOSSMATTHEWS BPMJCF. Detection of a Legionella-Yike bacterium related to WIGA in a fatal case of pneumonia. Ann Intern Med. 1979;91:673-6. LinkGoogle Scholar7. CORDESWILKINSONGORMANFIKESFRASER LWGBD. Atypical Legionella-like organisms: fastidious water-associated bacteria pathogenic for man. Lancet. 1979;2:927-30. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. BRENNERSTEIGERWALTGORMAN DAG. Legionella bozemanii species nova and Legionella dumoffii species nova: classification of two additional species of Legionella associated with human pneumonia. Curr Microbiol. 1980;4:115-20. CrossrefGoogle Scholar9. HÉBERTMOSSMCDOUGALBOZEMANMCKINNEYBRENNER GCLFRD. The rickettsia-like organisms TATLOCK (1943) and HEBA (1959): bacteria phenotypically similar to but genetically distinct from Legionella pneumophila and the WIGA bacterium. Ann Intern Med. 1980;92:45-52. LinkGoogle Scholar10. HÉBERTTHOMASONHARRISHICKLINMCKINNEY GBPMR. "Pittsburgh pneumonia agent": a bacterium phenotypically similar to Legionella pneumophila and identical to the TATLOCK bacterium. Ann Intern Med. 1980;92:53-4. LinkGoogle Scholar11. HÉBERTSTEIGERWALTBRENNER GAD. Legionella micdadei species nova: classification of a third species of Legionella associated with human pneumonia. Curr Microbiol. 1980;3:255-8. CrossrefGoogle Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Bacteriology Division Bureau of Laboratories Center for Disease Control Atlanta, Georgia PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics Cited ByBiographical Feature: Albert Balows, Ph.D.Infectious DiseasesLEGIONNAIRES DISEASE 1 August 1980Volume 93, Issue 2Page: 366-367KeywordsBacillusBacteriaBacteriologyDiphtheriaDysenteryLegionella Issue Published: 1 August 1980 PDF DownloadLoading ...