DEAR DR. DONOHUE: The second day after my husband returned from a business trip, he came down with a cough and a high temperature. I managed to get him to our doctor's office. The doctor had him hospitalized right away. He had pneumonia that turned out to be Legionnaire's disease. I remember reading about it a long time ago, but I haven't heard anything recently. Is it a common illness? How do you get it? Does it spread from someone who has it? -- N.R.
ANSWER: Legionnaire's disease was first described in 1976, when a pneumonia outbreak occurred during an American Legion convention in Philadelphia. That's probably when you read about it. The story was in all the newspapers then. It still occurs. It's not the most common cause of pneumonia, but it's not exactly rare either.
Once the Legionella germ -- the cause of this illness -- gets into a person's lungs, it takes anywhere from two to 18 days before symptoms appear. At first, they are mild -- a slight cough.
But soon the cough increases in intensity, temperature rises and often an infected person has diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and stomach pain.
Those stomach symptoms are not always present, but when they are, they are highly suggestive of Legionnaire's disease. Untreated, the illness can progress to confusion and stupor. It can even lead to death.
The suspicion of Legionnaire's disease is confirmed by culturing the germ from an infected person's sputum or by a urine test that detects cast-off parts of the bacterium.
Treatment is antibiotics, and two often used are levofloxacin or azithromycin.
The germ isn't spread from infected people to others. It's spread by airborne droplets of water containing Legionella. The water is sometimes in showers, whirlpool baths, humidifiers or decorative fountains, to name a few of the places where such contaminated water is found.
DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My friends have been singing the praises of coenzyme Q10. According to them, it's a wonder drug for just about everything. That makes me suspicious. Do you think it's as great as these people tell me? -- W.S.
ANSWER: Coenzyme Q10 is often referred to as a vitamin; it is not. It's found in many foods, and our bodies make it.
It's an antioxidant, one of those substances that keep us from rusting. The list of illnesses for which it has been offered as treatment or prevention is quite long. It includes Parkinson's disease, migraine headaches, high blood pressure, congestive heart failure and breast cancer. It has been touted as bolstering the immune system.
I have my doubts about all those claims, but there is evidence that supports its use in a few instances. It doesn't have major side effects. If you want to try it, it won't hurt, but don't substitute it for any prescribed medicine. In time, the Q10 story will be known in its entirety.