Pontiac fever


Pontiac fever
Other names: Non-pneumonic Legionnaires' disease[1]
SpecialtyInfectious disease

Pontiac fever is an acute, nonfatal respiratory disease caused by various species of Gram-negative bacteria in the genus Legionella. It causes a mild upper respiratory infection that resembles acute influenza. Pontiac fever resolves spontaneously and often goes undiagnosed. Both Pontiac fever and the more severe Legionnaire's disease may be caused by the same bacterium, but Pontiac fever does not include pneumonia.[2][3][4][5]

Signs and symptoms

As to presentation it could be 3 days after exposure to develop symptoms, this usually consists of:[6]

  • Fever
  • Muscle aches

Cause

Species of Legionella known to cause Pontiac fever include Legionella pneumophila, Legionella longbeachae, Legionella feeleii, Legionella micdadei, and Legionella anisa.[7] Sources of the causative agents are aquatic systems and potting soil. The first outbreak caused by inhalation of aerosolized potting soil was discovered in New Zealand in January 2007. A total of 10 workers at a nursery came down with Pontiac fever. It was the first identification of L. longbeachae.[8] Pontiac fever does not spread from person to person. It is acquired through aerosolization of water droplets and/or potting soil containing Legionella bacteria.[9]

Diagnosis

In terms of the diagnosis of Pontiac fever we find the following is done:[6]

Treatment

No fatalities have been reported and cases resolve spontaneously without treatment.[10] It is often not reported.[11]

Epidemiology

Age, gender, and smoking do not seem to be risk factors; Pontiac fever seems to affect young people in the age medians of 29 to 32. [12][13]

History

Pontiac fever was named after the city of Pontiac, Michigan, where the first case was recognized. In 1968, several workers at the county's department of health came down with a fever and mild flu symptoms, but not pneumonia. After the 1976 Legionnaires' outbreak in Philadelphia, the Michigan health department re-examined blood samples and discovered the workers had been infected with the newly identified Legionella pneumophila.[14][15] An outbreak caused by Legionella micdadei in early 1988 in the UK became known as Lochgoilhead fever.[16] Since that time, other species of Legionella that cause Pontiac fever have been identified, most notably in New Zealand, in 2007 where Legionella longbeachae was discovered. The New Zealand outbreak also marked the first time Pontiac fever had been traced to potting soil.

References

  1. ↑ "Orphanet: Pontiac fever". www.orpha.net. Archived from the original on 4 August 2024. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
  2. ↑ "General Information- Pontiac Fever". HPA. Archived from the original on 2014-03-15. Retrieved 2013-04-07. Archived 2014-03-15 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ Castor, Mei Lin; Wagstrom, Elizabeth A.; Danila, Richard N.; Smith, Kirk E.; Naimi, Timothy S.; Besser, John M.; Peacock, Keith A.; Juni, Billie A.; Hunt, John M.; Bartkus, Joanne M.; Kirkhorn, Steven R.; Lynfield, Ruth (May 2005). "An Outbreak of Pontiac Fever with Respiratory Distress among Workers Performing High-Pressure Cleaning at a Sugar-Beet Processing Plant". The Journal of Infectious Diseases. 191 (9): 1530–1537. doi:10.1086/428776. PMID 15809913.
  4. ↑ Fields, Barry S.; Haupt, Thomas; Davis, Jeffrey P.; Arduino, Matthew J.; Miller, Phyllis H.; Butler, Jay C. (15 November 2001). "Pontiac Fever Due to Legionella micdadei from a Whirlpool Spa: Possible Role of Bacterial Endotoxin". The Journal of Infectious Diseases. 184 (10): 1289–1292. doi:10.1086/324211. PMID 11679917.
  5. ↑ "General Information- Pontiac Fever & Legionnaires' Disease". Legionellacontrol. Archived from the original on 2019-05-29. Retrieved 2011-09-02. Archived 2019-05-29 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "About Pontiac Fever". Legionella (Legionnaires' Disease and Pontiac Fever). 26 March 2024. Archived from the original on 24 April 2025. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
  7. ↑ Phin, Nick; Parry-Ford, Frances; Harrison, Timothy; Stagg, Helen R; Zhang, Natalie; Kumar, Kartik; Lortholary, Olivier; Zumla, Alimuddin; Abubakar, Ibrahim (October 2014). "Epidemiology and clinical management of Legionnaires' disease" (PDF). The Lancet Infectious Diseases. 14 (10): 1011–1021. doi:10.1016/S1473-3099(14)70713-3. PMID 24970283. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-09-12. Retrieved 2024-10-26. Archived 2022-09-12 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ CRAMP, G. J.; HARTE, D.; DOUGLAS, N. M.; GRAHAM, F.; SCHOUSBOE, M.; SYKES, K. (28 September 2009). "An outbreak of Pontiac fever due to Legionella longbeachae serogroup 2 found in potting mix in a horticultural nursery in New Zealand". Epidemiology and Infection. 138 (1): 15–20. doi:10.1017/S0950268809990835. PMID 19781115.
  9. ↑ Lauri A. Hicks; Laurel E. Garrison (2011-07-01). "Legionellosis (Legionnaires' Disease & Pontiac Fever) - Chapter 3 - 2012 Yellow Book - Travelers' Health - CDC". C.cdc.gov. Archived from the original on 2013-05-14. Retrieved 2013-04-08. Archived 2013-05-14 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ "Legionella (Legionnaires' Disease and Pontiac Fever". CDC. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2014. Archived 1 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ Pancer, K; Stypułkowska-Misiurewicz, H (2003). "Gorączka Pontiac - pozapłucna postać legionelozy" [Pontiac fever - non-pneumonic legionellosis]. Przeglad Epidemiologiczny (in polski). 57 (4): 607–12. PMID 15029835. Archived from the original on 2022-09-12. Retrieved 2024-10-26. Archived 2022-09-12 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ↑ Fraser, D.; Deubner, D.; Hill, D.; Gilliam, D. (17 August 1979). "Nonpneumonic, short-incubation-period Legionellosis (Pontiac fever) in men who cleaned a steam turbine condenser". Science. 205 (4407): 690–691. Bibcode:1979Sci...205..690F. doi:10.1126/science.462175. PMID 462175.
  13. ↑ Friedman, S; Spitalny, K; Barbaree, J; Faur, Y; McKinney, R (May 1987). "Pontiac fever outbreak associated with a cooling tower". American Journal of Public Health. 77 (5): 568–572. doi:10.2105/ajph.77.5.568. PMC 1647035. PMID 3565648.
  14. ↑ "In Philadelphia 30 Years Ago, an Eruption of Illness and Fear". The New York Times. 1 August 2006. Archived from the original on 26 June 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2024. Archived 26 June 2022 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ↑ Tossa, Paul; Deloge-Abarkan, Magali; Zmirou-Navier, Denis; Hartemann, Philippe; Mathieu, Laurence (28 April 2006). "Pontiac fever: an operational definition for epidemiological studies". BMC Public Health. 6 (1): 112. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-6-112. PMC 1468404. PMID 16646972.
  16. ↑ Goldberg, DavidJ.; Collier, PeterW.; Fallon, RonaldJ.; Mckay, ThomasM.; Markwick, TerenceA.; Wrench, JohnG.; Emslie, JohnA.; Forbes, GeraldI.; Macpherson, AgnesC.; Reid, Daniel (February 1989). "Lochgoilhead fever: outbreak of non-pneumonic legionellosis due to Legionella micdadei". The Lancet. 333 (8633): 316–318. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(89)91319-6. PMID 2563467. S2CID 35846776.

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