In June 2017, a guest who had stayed at the Guest House of Elvis Presley Enterprises’ (EPE) Graceland estate in Memphis, TN had passed away. Three months later, the widow and family members sued EPE, claiming that the victim had contracted Legionnaires’ disease from the estate’s hot tub and swimming pool. Now 7 months after that initial death, it is being reported that EPE is filing a separate lawsuit against two particular pool companies involved with the upkeep and maintenance of the hot tub and swimming pool. Apparently officials with EPE are claiming in their own lawsuit that these two pool…
Over the course of 2014 and 2015, approximately a dozen people died from an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease during Flint’s water crisis. Now it appears as though some of the next steps regarding a potential prosecution are moving ahead. To start, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon is scheduled to restart his preliminary examination this Friday, Jan. 19 and is facing charges of involuntary manslaughter along with misconduct in office. This is significant because Lyon appears to be one of the state public health officials who was aware of the Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks in the Flint…
In our previous post, we discussed first steps for institutions to take in order to develop an effective water management plan to reduce the risk of Legionnaires’ disease. And while it is certainly true that Legionnaires’ disease can occur within larger buildings, including older structures with older pipes, there is also the potential to encounter Legionella bacteria and Legionnaires’ disease with outdoor activities, including through gardening. There are a couple of reasons for this. As this site has discussed before, Legionella bacteria often forms in stagnant and standing pools of water, particularly when this water happens to be warm. When…
The recent hearing regarding the outbreak of Legionnaires disease in Quincy, Illinois serves to further highlight the importance of not only a rapid response, but more importantly, a strong prevention strategy. Indeed according to the Center for Disease Control, 9 out of 10 Legionnaires’ disease cases could have been prevented, a staggering figure which emphasizes the importance of prevention. With this in mind, this post serves to provide a general overview of methods institutions can take in order to reduce the risk of Legionnaires disease. First and foremost, reviewing the effectiveness of your water management plan regularly can make a…
Last week, on January 9th, Illinois state officials gathered for a hearing on the Legionnaires’ outbreak which occurred at the Quincy, Illinois Veterans Home and has resulted in the death of 13 people since August 2015. This hearing not only discussed the causes of this outbreak and what responses were taken in its aftermath, but also reviewed next steps forward to ensure that such an incident would not happen again. As a review, the first reported case of this outbreak at the veterans home arrived in late July 2015 with a second identified case arriving just a few weeks later.…
From New York to California, populations across the United States have an increased risk of a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak. Health officials are increasingly concerned about the continuous uptick of Legionnaires’ disease cases, which have risen steadily since 2000. While the waterborne bacterial disease is relatively rare ― with 6,238 cases nationwideso far this year ― there has been a 13.6 percent increase in cases since this time last year. That’s nearly double the increase of 7.8 percent from 2015 to 2016 in the same time period. The disease is not contagious. It’s contracted when people breathe in water droplets contaminated…
ASHRAE 188 is an industry standard dealing with preventing Legionnaires’ disease in water systems in buildings in the United States. Unfortunately, the standard does not go far enough. While it does require the development of a water management plan, it does not require testing for the presence of legionella (the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease) in the water supply. This often leads to a person contracting Legionnaires’ disease and then testing for the presence of the bacteria. This is the proverbial canary in the coal mine scenario, where the miners only knew there was gas after it had spread throughout…
Even the happiest place on Earth is immune from the potentially lethal bacteria called Legionella. Orange County, CA health officials isolated Cooling towers located in Disneyland as the common source that caused at least 12 cases of legionnaires’ disease over the last three weeks. Most of those who were affected were visitors of the park while at least three were resident living closely to the cooling towers in question. At least 10 individuals were hospitalized. Legionnaires’ is a severe lung infection caused by exposure to contaminated water or mist. In other cases handled by Jules Zacher, we have seen cooling…
Five guests and one employee of the Springhill Suites Austin Round Rock hotel in Williamson County, Texas, have been diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease. The earliest cases were reported to the State Department of Health Services on September 29, 2017. The hotel has enlisted the help of a third-party firm in attempt to identify any possible source of Legionella bacteria and eliminate it from the property. The first three cases all reported being in or around the hot tub at the hotel, as well as the employee who had access to that area of the property. The hotel opted to close…
Drackett Tower at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio is now taking precautions after a student associated with the dorm hall was diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease. Legionnaires’ disease is a type of bacterial pneumonia caused by exposure to Legionella bacteria. This bacteria tends to thrive in water environments, and can cause illness when it is inhaled in the lungs through a mist or spray form of the contaminated water. Symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease can include nausea, vomiting, coughing, confusion, and lethargy. Reportedly, the dorm had a water drain line collapse last month which required the line to be shut…