March 14, 2022 zacherlaw 0 Comments

Legionnaires’ Disease Cases Rise in the Coachella Valley

There have been 20 confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ disease in the Coachella Valley between the fall of 2021 and early 2022. 14 of the 20 reported Legionnaires’ disease cases required hospitalization and two resulted in death. The source of the increase in cases remains unknown. County health officials are working with the California Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dr. Geoffrey Leung, a Riverside County Public Health, warned residents in the affected areas to seek medical attention if they experience pneumonia-like symptoms. Despite this warning, Dr. Leung stated that the risk to the…

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March 14, 2022 zacherlaw 0 Comments

Poverty Links COVID-19 and Legionnaires’ Disease

Clinicians and public health practitioners at Johns Hopkins University have identified poverty as a hidden link between COVID-19 and Legionnaires’ disease. After investigating the source of an uptick in Legionnaires’ disease cases, the researchers identified poor housing and socioeconomic disadvantage as common denominators between the patients.  Due to low incomes and fewer resources, these communities cannot afford to upgrade their aging water infrastructures and spend on expensive water testing and filtration systems. Not unlike those disproportionately affected by the pandemic, this poverty has led to those living within these communities to be the most susceptible to exposure to Legionella bacteria.  These researchers…

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March 14, 2022 zacherlaw 0 Comments

COVID Shutdowns and Legionnaires’ Disease

Water stagnation as a result of COVID-19 related shutdowns may have led to an increase in Legionnaires’ disease cases in Baltimore. Clinicians and public health practitioners at Johns Hopkins University identified the link between the shutdowns and Legionnaires’ disease after Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center treated four cases of the disease in 2021. It had been several years since the Bayview Medical Center treated a Legionnaires’ disease case. Legionella bacteria can grow within water pipes, especially when stagnant water is present. As buildings became unoccupied and water usage decreased in Baltimore, the stagnant water became “potential hotbeds” for Legionella bacteria to grow. The…

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January 25, 2022 zacherlaw 0 Comments

Potential Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak at Missouri Hospital

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) is investigating a potential outbreak of Legionnaire’s disease at Phelphs Hospital in Rolla, Missouri. Four cases have been identified among previously hospitalized patients. The DHSS issued a warning to healthcare providers and anyone in the public who may have been in contact with a water source at the hospital. While the DHSS is investigating the outbreak, Phelps Health is monitoring and testing its water system and providing patients with information on Legionnaire’s disease. To read more about the potential outbreak in Missouri, click here. For more information on Legionnaires’ disease, check out…

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November 5, 2021 zacherlaw 0 Comments

Confirmed Case of Legionnaires’ Disease at Missouri Mental Health Facility

A patient at Southeast Missouri Mental Health Center has tested positive for Legionnaires’ disease. The 66-year-old patient was transported to a hospital and is in stable condition. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services began extensive testing of the water systems at the Farmington, Missouri, facility. The Department is also assisting the facility in implementing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. After a deadly outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease at a veterans home in the neighboring state of Illinois, health department officials in Missouri tightened reporting requirements for Legionnaires’ disease in the state. Facilities must report evidence of…

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October 29, 2021 zacherlaw 0 Comments

Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak in Washington County, Oregon

Public health officials in Washington County, Oregon, are investigating a cluster of Legionnaires’ disease cases that has left four people hospitalized. In total, there are six confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ disease in the county. Washington County has seen fourteen cases so far this year, and public health officials are speculating that the county may exceed its record number of nineteen cases in 2019. The Washington County Public Health Department, along with the Oregon Health Authority and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are collecting samples and performing testing of potential sources of the outbreak.  Public health officials are encouraging residents…

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October 15, 2018 zacherlaw 0 Comments

South Dakota Investigation and the Health Department

Another case of Legionnaires’ disease has occurred in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, bringing the total to 15 including one death since July 2018. All of the victims either lived or traveled in the city. The CDC has completed its environmental assessment by taking water samples from cooling towers and water features such as decorative fountains. Final results have not been released. What is interesting is the local health department’s comment that often a single source for the outbreak is not found. That is not the experience of this law firm. The most recent example is the outbreak associated with the…

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