Over the past few weeks, several news reports have shed light on three Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks occurring in different areas in the United States. Each of these Outbreaks (New York City with multiple locations, The LA Fitness Gym and the Las Vegas Outbreak at the Rio Hotel) have resulted in multiple victims who contracted the disease including one woman who died as a result of Legionnaires’ disease as part of the NYC Outbreak. These three outbreaks continue the trend that we have seen over the last 15 years. Legionnaires’ disease is on the rise. According to a Dailymail.com article, the…
Hotel officials stated Tuesday that the Rio All-Suite’s water has been disinfected, but said it will take another couple weeks for test results before regional health officials can certify the property as bacteria-free. This after, officials from Caesars Entertainment confirmed that the bacteria had been found in at least one of the Rio’s two towers. The officials were not clear on the details of where exactly legionella, the bacteria which causes Legionnaires’ disease, was found on the hotel property. You or someone you know stayed at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas and have been diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease, please,…
Legionella, the Legionnaires’ disease causing bacteria, is ubiquitous in the natural environment, especially in damp soil and water. While the organism is present more or less everywhere, water temperatures of 72–107 °F are ideal conditions for rapid growth. This explains why outbreaks of Legionnaire’s disease become more common in the summer months and have often been linked to contaminated artificial water systems – especially air conditioning units in large buildings which use water for cooling. Studies of associations between weather variables and sporadic cases of legionnaires’ disease suggest that as temperatures rise globally so too does the prevalence of environments conducive to legionella growth.…
Two people were hospitalized with Legionnaires’ disease after visiting the Foothill Ranch community pool and spa located at 27021 Burbank in Foothill Ranch, California. While it was originally unclear whether or not the community pool and spa was the cause of these illnesses, testing performed by the Orange County Health Care Agency revealed that three samples from the spa tested positive for Legionella bacteria. Legionella bacteria can be found in warm hot tub water when it is not properly cleaned or disinfected. When this water becomes aerosolized and inhaled through the lungs, a person may contract Legionnaires disease, a severe type of…
One person is dead and six others have been hospitalized due to their illness with Legionnaires’ disease over the past 11 days in the Lenox Hill neighborhood of Manhattan, New York. The woman who passed was in her 90s and reportedly had underlying health issues, says the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The source of the outbreak is not yet known, but cooling systems within a half mile radius of those who have fallen ill are being tested as possible sources. The results from the 116 cooling systems under investigation may take up to two weeks. Legionnaires’ disease is caused…
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a requirement to all healthcare facilities on June 2, 2017 to reduce the risk of the Legionella bacteria in their water systems. This bacteria is the cause of Legionnaires’ disease. CMS issued this requirement because of numerous recent Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks in hospitals and long-term care facilities. As stated in the regulation; The hospital must provide a sanitary environment to avoid sources and transmission of infections and communicable diseases. There must be an active program for the prevention, control and investigation of infections and communicable diseases[i] The same type of regulation…
A recent New York Times article reported that Michigan state officials have been charged with involuntary manslaughter for the death of an 85 year old resident of Flint MI. Conviction could lead to a maximum of 20 years in prison. According to the article, the state officials knew about Legionnaires’s disease being associated with the Flint water supply as early as 2014 but did not respond to the problem in a timely fashion, and, more importantly, failed to tell the public about the growing number of Legionnaires’ disease cases. This newspaper article points up a number of issues surrounding Legionnaires’ disease.…
According to a news report dated June 10, 2017, the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) ordered environmental testing of the Rio All-Suites Resort & Casino after only one confirmed case of Legionnaires’ disease had been associated with the hotel. Environmental testing consists of obtaining samples of the water at a facility such as the Rio and then testing for the presence of the legionella bacteria, again according to the news report the test came back positive for the presence of the legionella bacteria. SNHD is to be commended for taking this proactive response after only one case has been associated with a…
In Orange County, FL, 4 members of an LA Fitness gym have contracted Legionnaires’ disease. The Department of Health has begun investigating whether the spas and showers located at the LA Fitness location could have been the source of the legionella bacteria. News of the Florida cases comes on the heels of several other outbreaks around the country. The bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ was found in a New York City police precinct where an officer was hospitalized with symptoms of the disease. Last week, the Southern Nevada Health District announced it is investigating two cases of Legionnaires’ in guests who stayed…
There have been numerous recent reports about two confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ disease of persons associated with the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV. Unfortunately, Las Vegas has been the scene of a number of Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks in past years. Jules Zacher, Esq. has represented persons who had stayed at the Aria Resorts and Casino who had contracted Legionnaires’ disease. This representation included two lawsuits, one brought in state court in Nevada and the other in the U.S. District Court for Nevada. The litigation included significant investigation of the reason for the outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease…