A European research consortium, comprised of university researchers, chemical analysis labs, and an Italian HVAC manufacturer. Researchers at the POSEIDON Project, which stands for Plasmonic-Based Automated Lab-on-Chip Sensor for the Rapid in-Situ Detection of Legionella, have begun the testing phase of a device that can instantly detect legionella. The device uses an optical sensor to automatically detect the presence of legionella bacteria. The current method of testing for the presence of legionella takes days, as a sample is taken and analysts wait for a culture of legionella bacteria to grow. The POSEIDON Project is only slated to be installed in HVAC and…
The University of Windsor, located in Windsor, Ontario, shut down its hot water system in a dozen buildings around campus after routine inspections indicated the presence of legionella bacteria. Originally, three hot water systems tested positive for legionella bacteria. Subsequently, nine more buildings were found to have legionella bacteria in their hot water systems. As of now, the local health department has stated that there have been no cases of Legionnaires’ Disease or Pontiac Fever reported to them. The university has stated that it has immediately begun the process of remediating these hot water systems. To read more about this situation, click…
A publicly operated recreation center and ice rink in the Montreal suburb of Beaconsfield has shut down after routine tests of ice condensers indicated a higher-than-normal presence of legionella. There have been no reported cases of Legionnaires Disease as of now. The operators of the recreation center have announced that the arena will be closed to the public for remediation and general maintenance for 6 weeks. These findings come roughly two years after an outbreak of Legionnaires Disease at a similar public recreation center and ice rink in Quebec infected 18 people, resulting in two deaths. Click here to read more…
The Victoria Department of Health and Human Services are investigating an outbreak of Legionnaires Disease in downtown Melbourne believed to have infected at least six people within the past two weeks, with more potential cases being investigated. All six of the victims are reported to have worked in or visited the east side of Melbourne’s Central Business District. One of the victims is said to have been hospitalized within an intensive care unit. All reported victims have been released from the hospital. The health authorities believe that the outbreak is tied to 92 cooling towers within the Central Business District of Melbourne. As…
Researchers at the Chemical Genomics Center of the Max Planck Society in Munich have promising results from their study of legionella infections. Legionellosis, the process of infection by legionella bacteria, is a particularly evasive infection. The body’s typical immune response involves ‘eating up’ foreign intruders such as bacteria and viruses in a process known as autophagy, ultimately preventing the onset of diseases and infections. A molecule known as LC3-PE is responsible for this process. Legionella bacteria has been found to contain a molecule, called RavZ, that disrupts the actions of LC3-PE and ultimately allows legionella bacteria to propagate within the body,…
According to a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court in Early April, four cancer patients staying at the Hope Lodge, an American Cancer Society facility that temporarily houses cancer patients, contracted Legionnaires Disease in early 2015. Of the four cases, Joan Pederson, a 62 year old brain cancer patient was the first and only recorded death associated with the outbreak. Pederson had to stop treatment for her brain cancer for weeks in order to receive treatment for her Legionnaires’ Disease. This outbreak was overshadowed by the much larger, concurrent Bronx outbreaks in which more than 100 people were affected, and…
A suburban Philadelphia high school has been shut down today after legionella bacteria was found in the school’s hot water system. The school was conducting routine testing of their water systems when a water sample from a spigot in the boiler room tested positive for legionella bacteria. This was the only area in the school that tested positive for legionella. The superintendent of the Kennett Consolidated School District, Barry W. Tomasetti, posted a bulletin to the school district’s website informing students and families of these findings. The school district stated that it is working closely with the Chester County Health Department and…
St Elizabeth Medical Center in Utica, New York has found small amounts of legionella bacteria in a handful of sampling locations throughout the campus. The results have been reported to the New York State Department of Health, and the hospital is currently in the process of remediating the presence of legionella. The tests were conducted in accordance with New York state guidelines that require all hospitals within the state to routinely sample their facilities for the presence of legionella. These guidelines were implemented in mid-2016 in response to two deadly outbreaks of Legionnaires’ Disease in the Bronx that took the lives of…
The first recorded outbreak of Legionnaires’ Disease happened in 1976 in Philadelphia at a conference for American Legion members. There were a total of 182 cases of the disease, 29 of which were fatal. Legionnaires’ Disease is a form of pneumonia caused by the legionella bacteria. Legionnaires’ Disease is also known as legionellosis. The disease takes anywhere from 2 to 14 days to take hold within the body. There are over 50 species of legionella bacteria. The most common by far is legionella pneumophila. Species of legionella are often named after the area in which they were found. There is a species of legionella called…
Marc Edwards, a Virginia Tech Civil and Environmental Engineering professor released a selection unpublished results from his team’s study of the 2015 outbreaks of Legionnaires’ Disease that killed 12 people in Flint, Michigan. Edwards, who is most known for sounding the alarm about the dangerous levels of lead in the Flint water system in 2015, believes that the Legionnaires’ Disease outbreak is a result of the water supply switch to the Flint river, coupled with the lack of any application of anti-corrosive and chlorination treatments. To conduct this study, Professor Edwards and his team simulated the outbreak in a lab. Edwards and his…