This past Monday, February 19, a Philadelphia-based global molecular solutions company called Invisible Sentinel Inc. announced its first-in-class Legionella species assay had been verified and adopted by a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) ELITE Certified Laboratory called Q Laboratories, Inc. The CDC ELITE, or Environmental Legionella Isolation Techniques Evaluation, is a CDC designation for labs that have shown proficiency with isolating, growing, and identifying Legionella from samples collected in the environment. Traditional screening methods, however, can often take up to two weeks so a development like the one touted by Invisible Sentinel would certainly mark a significant improvement. The new…
Over the course of this blog, many subjects have been covered however perhaps as a reminder and as a step back, it is prudent to review exactly how individuals contract Legionnaires’ disease. As mentioned before, Legionnaires’ disease is often contracted by breathing in aerosolized water (and in some cases, soil) that has Legionella bacteria. As such, Legionnaires’ disease cannot be given from one individual to another. The Legionella bacteria grows the best in warm temperatures so can often thrive in locations like cooling towers, evaporative condensers, and hot water tanks. The Legionella pneumophila causes around 90% of all Legionnaires’ disease cases and can survive…
About a month ago, we began discussing the Quincy, Illinois Veterans Home outbreak. Since then, we have followed legislative attempts as well as the revelation last week that there were in fact 2 new cases found. Now just a week later, it was reported last night that there are, in fact, two additional cases stemming from the Qunicy, Illinois Veterans Home. The Illinois Department of Public Health made this announcement on Tuesday, just hours after the state’s Senate Democrats had held a series of hearings regarding the outbreaks. This fourth patient is apparently in stable condition and the central issue being discussed by Senate…
Last Wednesday, officials with the Illinois’ Department of Human Services made a statement that a patient at the Chester Mental Health Center, a mental health facility in southern Illinois, had tested positive for Legionnaires’ disease. In the statement, the officials also said that the patient from the mental health facility was being treated and is in stable condition. In response to the incident, the Chester Mental Health Center stated that it would be working with the Illinois’ Department of Public Health to find the source of the bacteria and maintain extensive monitoring other patients. In a news release earlier this week…
Over the course of the past month, we have not only covered various sporadic cases and outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease, but have also tried to shine light onto other developments within the field. A seemingly simple question, however, has been on my mind as I continue to go through these stories; is there a vaccine that could prevent individuals from being at risk to Legionnaires’ disease? And if there is not a vaccine, then why not? Well the first question is relatively simple to answer; no, there are currently no vaccines for Legionnaires’ disease. There have certainly been attempts to…
The source of Legionella bacteria and where individuals contract Legionnaires’ disease can often be unexpected. In a study from researchers out of the University of Padua, it was found that two men contracted Legionnaires’ disease after using two separate car washes in Italy. And while the location may seem somewhat surprising, according to microbiologist Dr Tom Makin, a senior consultant at Legionella control in the UK, perhaps it shouldn’t be. Indeed Dr. Makin remarks that, “(C)ar washes are capable of generating the right sized aerosols that can be inhaled into the lungs where the Legionella bacteria cause infection, such as pneumonia.’…
NSF International, a global public health organization that develops standards and tests and certifies products for the water, food, consumer goods and health sciences industries will be hosting the first ever Legionella Conference alongside the National Science Foundation. The conference, specifically entitled the Legionella Conference 2018 – Managing Legionella and Other Pathogens in Building Water Systems, will be occurring from May 9-11, 2018, in Baltimore, Maryland and represents the first time experts with various backgrounds including from academia, medicine, industry, public health and government will come together in order to discuss Legionella along with other related pathogens which can be found in water distribution systems. Specifically, the conference…
This past weekend, it was reported by WKBW Buffalo that the Buffalo Public Schools were investigating a potential claim of Legionella being found at the Districts office. According to the report, the bacteria was found in a single water sample and furthermore, according to a spokesperson for the Buffalo Public Schools, it is unclear whether this finding is accurate. Part of the reason for the lack of clarity is due to there not being any current standards for Legionella testing in buildings that are not health related. This is in addition to the fact that individuals associated with the Buffalo…
Over the past few weeks, we have been following the Quincy, Illinois Veterans Home outbreak, one which has so far contributed to the death of 13 residents of the Veterans home while infecting dozens more. Now, as of this morning, officials have come forward and reported that in fact two additional confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ disease among the residents of the veterans’ home have been discovered. Meanwhile the Illinois Department of Public Health made an announcement Monday evening that it had already removed faucets from residents’ rooms in the veteran’s home and were collecting water samples along with taking other…
In a previous post, we discussed the origins and very early beginnings of Legionnaires’ disease. In this post, we are hoping to slowly move through time and discuss some significant outbreaks and moments of Legionnaires’ disease history. Perhaps the first major outbreak after the 1976 Philadelphia incident would be with Stafford, England. In April 1985, approximately 175 people were admitted into the Kingsmead Stafford Hospital with pneumonia. Of these cases, around 28 individuals ended up dying with the origin of the infection being discovered to be the Stafford District Hospital. About a decade later, in March 1999, the Bovenkarspel legionellosis…