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.…
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…