A small outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in upstate New York has health department officials searching for a possible source of bacteria. Four individuals have recently been treated for the disease. Three of them lived at the same Plattsburgh apartment complex, and the fourth lives nearby. The patients were being treated at the Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital in Plattsburgh. The Clinton County Health Department is working with the New York State Department of Health to investigate possible sources of Legionella bacteria. Though three of the patients live in the same apartment complex, officials cautioned that the source could be aerosolized water in…
Legionnaires’ disease has caused a second death in Niagara County, state health officials report. County Public Health Director Daniel Stapleton stated that the second victim had “underlying health conditions”, but no specific information about the patient has yet been released. Eight cases of Legionnaires’ disease have been reported in Lockport, NY The first death was that of a man who lived near the Eastern Niagara Hospital. A cooling tower on hospital property was recently found to have elevated levels of Legionella bacteria. Routine state-mandated tests revealed the colony of bacteria in the cooling tower in September. The hospital sanitized and retested the…
Three people that visited the Red Roof Inn in Danville, Illinois between October 2015 and September 2016 developed Legionnaires’ disease. Two of these people are residents of Michigan that were traveling together, while the third is a resident of northern Illinois. The Illinois Department of Public Health collected samples from the swimming pool, spa, and a guest room at the hotel on October 5, 2016 to test for the presence of Legionella bacteria. However, on Wednesday, October 26, 2016, Vermilion County Health Administrator Doug Toole announced that the 10 samples collected at the hotel all tested negative for Legionella. Toole also indicated that…
A late-summer cluster of Legionnaires’ disease cases in Buffalo, NY is still under investigation. The investigation began when state-mandated testing revealed that a cooling tower at the East Niagara Hospital contained elevated levels of Legionella bacteria. Testing is now being done to determine whether the strain of Legionella in the patients’ bodies is the same as that in the cooling tower. Recent legislation in New York has required building owner to test all cooling every 90 days and log their results with the State Health Department. In a routine test of the hospital’s cooling tower, levels of Legionella were found to be ten times those allowed…
An employee of Fiat Chrysler has contracted Legionnaires’ disease, and company officials are now conducting tests to ensure that their plant is not the source. The Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit, MI was built in 1991 and employs about 5,000 people. The company learned of the employee’s diagnosis on Wednesday. Though the source of the bacteria is still unknown, officials are now testing the water sources at the plant. The company’s “abundance of caution for the safety and welfare” of its employees is likely prompted by the recent attention that Legionnaires’ disease has received in the nearby Flint, MI…
Three former residents and one employee of Wesley Health Care Center in Saratoga Springs, New York tested positive for Legionella bacteria. The former residents were staying on the same floor while involved in short-term rehabilitation programs at the nursing home. The facility last performed routine tests for Legionella on September 2, 2016, yielding negative results. Saratoga Hospital informed Wesley Health Care Center of the cases of Legionnaires’ disease on October 13, 2016, and dozens of water samples have been taken from the facility since then in an attempt to determine if it is the source of the bacteria. The results of those tests are not yet…
A research group called CU and the CDC comprised of both undergraduate students from Clemson and officials of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) had the privilege of naming a new strain of Legionella bacteria after the University- Legionella clemsonensis. The CDC sent 68 strains of Legionella bacteria that didn’t match up to any strains in the current database to Clemson students to analyze. Through sequencing two genes, the students were to determine if the species could be identified as one of the known strains of Legionella, or if the strains were new. These tests revealed that one of…
Twelve people have been diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease in Niagara County. Eight of those diagnosed are associated with the Lockport area specifically. A cooling tower at the Eastern Niagara Hospital in Lockport recently tested positive for Legionella bacteria. Under the 2016 New York state regulations, cooling towers must be regularly tested for Legionella, and any cooling towers that test positive must report it to the state and local departments of health. The hospital advised they have since re-cleaned and disinfected the cooling tower, and also in accordance with the 2016 New York state regulations they will also conduct additional testing…
Two patients at the Overlake Hospital Medical Center in Bellevue, WA were diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease in September. One, a patient in her 50s, was treated for the disease at a different hospital six days after she visited Overlake’s emergency department. The other, a man in his 60s, had been in the hospital for treatment when he contracted the disease. The male patient had a compromised immune system due to a preexisting medical condition. Hospital officials have stated that it is unclear where the second patient contracted the disease. Preliminary tests, however, showed the presence of Legionella bacteria in a sink and…
State health officials have identified the likely source of a record-setting Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in Hopkins, MN. The bacteria has been traced to a set of cooling towers at Citrus Systems, Inc., a local beverage manufacturer. 23 people have fallen ill with Legionnaires’ disease in Hopkins; 17 of them were hospitalized, and one died. The town has been struggling to identify the source of the outbreak since early September. Health officials studied the distribution of cases and the habits of the individuals affected; several water sources throughout the town were tested for Legionella bacteria. The investigation was eventually narrowed to cover a…