Numbers continue to grow in the ongoing investigation in Hopkins, MN, and officials still are unsure what the source of the Legionella responsible for this outbreak might be. Currently, the total confirmed cases found associated with the Hopkins area adds up to 20, with one case resulting in the victim’s death. The victims of the disease were found to live, work, or have visited the Hopkins, Minnesota area prior to September 9, 2016. Although some measures to eradicate the possible source of the outbreak have already been taken- such as disinfecting cooling towers atop some local businesses and shutting down a decorative fountain- none of these locations have tested positive for the bacteria. Therefore, it is unclear whether these measures will prevent any new cases from developing. The Minnesota Department of Health has enlisted the aid of the New York state diagnostic laboratory to test the Hopkins water samples for Legionella, due to their experience in testing for the bacteria after an outbreak in New York City in 2015. Jules Zacher is an attorney in Philadelphia who has tried Legionnaires’ disease cases across the U.S. Please visit LegionnaireLawyer.com for updates to this post or for more information on Legionnaires’ disease.
20 confirmed cases, 1 dead in Hopkins, MN outbreak was last modified: September 28th, 2016 by