If Legionnaires' disease is diagnosed early it can be treated with antibiotics. The most commonly used antibiotic is called erythromycin, or clarithromycin is also possible. Normally you would take these in tablet or capsule form. in severe cases the treatment may be administered through a drip, usually via a vein in your arm. The course of treatment should take about a week or 10 days, or sometimes up to 3 weeks if the disease is very bad or has progressed a long way.

If you are diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease you may be given tablets to take at home. However, as it is potentially very serious, quite a lot of cases are treated in hospital. This could be because someone needs a drip treatment as mentioned above, or there are complications such as diabetes or old age.

You can find a list of the symptoms here, as well as some information on the treatment.