Legionnaires' disease, a potentially fatal type of pneumonia primarily
affecting elderly and immuno-compromised persons, is caused by the
ubiquitous environmental bacterium Legionella pneumophila. This book
offers authoritative reviews of different facets of its virulence,
focusing on comparative phagocyte infection, virulence gene regulation,
biochemical functions of effector proteins and cellular pathogen-host
interactions, as well as host responses and immunity to L.
pneumophila. Taken together, the contributions in this compilation
provide a state-of-the-art overview of current insights into the
molecular pathogenesis of the opportunistic and potentially fatal
pathogen L. pneumophila.