Analysts expect the global market for Legionella testing to grow considerably over the next several years. As property owners and businesses become aware of the value of testing their water systems for Legionella, demand for testing products and water experts should increase. Public health initiatives and the widespread publicity of cases like the Bronx outbreak and the Flint water crisis have increased awareness of the risks of Legionnaires’ disease in the popular mind. As doctors and patients become more aware that diagnoses of pneumonia and colds might be concealing the presence of Legionella, advancements in testing will drive up the demand…
The continuing saga of Legionella at the Golden Sands Condominium advanced this week when recent tests showed the presence of the bacteria in the water once again. After two guests contracted Legionnaires’ disease at the Maryland facility last November, management launched a treatment plan and disinfected the building’s water system with chlorine. Subsequent tests indicated that the bacteria was under control. At the end of June, however, two more guests of the condo contracted Legionnaires’. As required by the local health department, management began to conduct biweekly tests of the building and alerted tenants of the risk. The results of…
A new study by a team at Virginia Tech has linked the outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in Flint, MI to the city’s decision to switch its water supply. Flint suffered a surge in cases of Legionnaires’ disease from 2014 to 2015, with nearly 100 people sickened and 12 deaths. The death toll could have been higher, as Legionnaires’ disease often masquerades as pneumonia and goes unreported. Health officials assumed that the city’s decision to switch its water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River was to blame, but no tests were done at the time of the outbreak. (An…
A retirement community in Maryland is once again struggling to contain Legionella bacteria in its water supply. Three residents of the Lutheran Village at Miller’s Grant in Ellicott City, Maryland were diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease in late May of this year. County health officials shut off the water after determining that the retirement community was the source of the bacteria. After testing and treating the water, officials turned it back on in early July. The retirement community intended to continue testing until the water was shown to be clear of Legionella. These tests have now shown that there is still…
A possible source of Legionella infection in Australia has been managed, officials say, thanks to mandatory testing and water treatment programs. The Cunnamulla Hospital in Queensland, Australia conducted regular tests for Legionella bacteria in its water supply, as mandated by Queensland lawmakers. These tests revealed the presence of bacteria earlier this July. Hospital officials shut off water before patients or staff were at risk and chlorinated the water. Further tests have now indicated that the bacteria is gone, though the hospital will continue to monitor the situation. A spokesperson for the hospital pointed out that many facilities in the area…
As Philadelphia prepares for a four-day convention in the heat of July, some residents are recalling another convention forty years ago and hoping that news will be made by politicians rather than CDC officials. The American Legion convention of July 21-24, 1976, where over 200 people were sickened and 34 died, is now remembered for sparking the first public health crisis covered by modern mass media. In an opinion piece for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Marc Weingarten of Locks Law Firm discusses the discovery of the disease and its implications on public health funding and research. The suffering of those who…
More people have been sickened by Legionnaires’ disease at a condominium in Ocean Park, Maryland. The Golden Sands Club Condominium reported the second round of cases in less than a year. Last November, four people who had previously stayed at the Golden Sands Club Condominium were diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease. The guests had stayed at the large beachfront complex during October 2015. Though the outbreak was never officially linked to the condominiums, facility managers tested the water there and found Legionella bacteria. Managers installed a water treatment system in April in an attempt to control the bacteria. They also notified…
Public awareness of the problem of Legionnaires’ disease in Flint, Michigan may finally be paying off. A research project headed by Wayne State University in Michigan will investigate the possibility that water from the Flint River was contaminated with Legionella bacteria in addition to lead. After nearly 100 Flint residents contracted Legionnaires’ disease in 2014 and 2015, with 12 cases proving fatal, experts wondered whether the outbreak was related to the city’s water system. (By contrast, only one case of Legionnaires’ disease has been reported in the Flint area so far this year.) Little testing was done for Legionella, though, despite the…
A recent Huffington Post article draws attention to the nationwide problem of Legionnaires’ disease and to the benefits of mandatory tests for the disease. In a June 30 piece, Joseph Erbentraut discusses the deadly risk of Legionnaires’ disease as well as the surprising absence of legislation to prevent it. Erbentraut was prompted to write the piece by the recent Legionellosis outbreak in Flint, MI, but the article draws attention to the nationwide prevalence of the disease and the threat it poses to the elderly and infirm. Experts quoted in the article point out the fact that Legionnaires’ disease is often underreported as its…
The first case of Legionnaires’ disease this year has been reported in the Flint, MI area. The news comes less than a week after county officials issued a statement saying that no new cases of Legionnaires’ disease had been reported in Flint’s county in 2016. In a statement released on June 30, the Genesee County Health Department stated that no residents of the area have contracted the disease in 2016. On July 6, however, officials from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced that a patient from the Genesee County area had been diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease. The…