Bad actors.

• Position: STATESTATS - Legionnaire's Disease and Campylobacteriosis - Brief article

Two bacteria--Legionella and Campylobacter--cause the most illnesses.

Legionella

* Most people exposed to it don't get sick, but it can cause Legionnaire's Disease, a severe form of pneumonia that sends an estimated 8,000 to 18,000 people--mostly elderly or weak--to hospitals each year. Legionnaire's Disease often occurs in single cases rather than in outbreaks.

* It inhabits hot tubs, large plumbing systems, cooling towers and decorative fountains, and can sicken people when they breathe contaminated vapor.

* It is named after a 1976 outbreak at an American Legion convention in Philadelphia.

Campylobacter

* This bacteria causes diarrhea, cramping, abdominal pain and fever in more than 1...