‘It’s a silent killer’: fears of legionella grow amid pandemic

Legionella in water is sickening and sometimes killing Americans, with the current reopening of buildings prompting fresh concerns

• This story is co-published with Ensia

Before her 73-year-old mom contracted legionnaires' disease at a nursing home earlier this year, Monique Barlow knew little about the deadly pneumonia and the waterborne pathogen that causes it.

Until then, I didn't give it much thought," says Barlow. I didn't even really know what it was."