[Legionnaires' disease in the Paris area: epidemiology and mortality. Apropos of a series of 81 culture-positive cases].

OBJECTIVES: Evaluate etiological circumstances and prognosis in Legionnaires' disease. METHODS: A series of 81 culture-proven cases of Legionnaires' disease was collected in the Paris area between 1989 and 1994. RESULTS: Direct immunofluorescence assay was positive for Legionella pneumophilia in 48% of the cases. Serogroup 1 was isolated in 88% of the cases. The median age of the patients was 51 years and 74% were males. Infection was nosocomial in 28% of the cases. Immunosuppression was present in 45% of the patients (transplantation, cancer, leukemia). Among the immunosuppressed patients, 7 were HIV-infected. Mortality due to legionellosis reached 27%. This high mortality was probably related to patient selection criteria. CONCLUSION: Mortality from Legionnaires' disease remains high as confirmed in this series.