Legionnaires' disease associated with habitual drinking of hot spring water

A 57-year-old man presented with pneumonia, respiratory distress, and myelo dysplastic syndrome. A diagnosis of Legionnaires' disease due to Legionella pneumophila (L. pneumophila) was established. The patient had long been dr inking tap water via a conduit from a hot spring resource, from which L. pn eumophila was also isolated. Both the patient's strain and the water strain of L. pneumophila were identified as serogroup 1, and the genetic relatedn ess between the two strains as seen by pulsed-Geld gel electrophoresis was 87 %. The patient was successfully treated with erythromycin, fluoroquinolo ne, and rifampicin. This case raises an important issue on public health re presented by legionellosis in Japan.