Over the past few weeks, we have included several articles regarding the Quincy, Illinois Veteran’s Home Legionnaire’s disease outbreak and the state’s attempts to not only find out exactly what happened, but to also take steps to try and ensure this kind of severe outbreak can never happen again. As of yesterday, this process of figuring out next steps took a new decisive turn by having Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration announce its plans to replace the residence halls at Quincy, Illinois veterans’ facility. The plan, which was revealed by the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs Director Erica Jeffries, was initially…
Due to a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak at the Island Walk gated community at the West Villages development in North Port last Friday, the Sarasota County Health Department will be testing the pool as well as the spa area of the facilities. The environmental health director for the Sarasota County Health Department Tom Higginbotham said the test kits had arrived on Tuesday and that the water from the hot tub along with both pools would be tested. Mr. Higginbotham also mentioned that the health department’s investigation should take around two days and that while the spa and two pools are the focus of the investigation,…
Numerous topics surrounding Legionella bacteria and Legionnaires’ disease have come up on this site. As an effort to take a step back and examine some of the basics, this post seeks to examine various forms of control and prevention for Legionella bacteria. One effective chemical treatment is chlorine. This is particularly effective for systems with basic marginal issues however for systems with more significant problems, a ‘shock’ chlorination, i.e. when chlorine levels are raised to more than 2 ppm over 24 hours and then brought back down to 0.5 ppm can sometimes prove effective. Hyperchlorination is a somewhat similar process however it…
Last week, CBS Chicago reported that Legionella bacteria had been found at the Comptroller’s Springfield office. The results were confirmed last Tuesday by officials from Comptroller Susana Mendoza’s office and also noted that the contaminated water was not in locations of the office which were accessible to employees. This revelations comes to light at a clearly rough time for many of Illinois’ state facilities, which most recently included the news that health officials had confirmed a fourth case of Legionnaires’ disease at the Quincy, Illinois Veterans Home. It is important to keep this story in perspective. After all, Legionella bacteria was found however…
This past Monday, February 19, a Philadelphia-based global molecular solutions company called Invisible Sentinel Inc. announced its first-in-class Legionella species assay had been verified and adopted by a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) ELITE Certified Laboratory called Q Laboratories, Inc. The CDC ELITE, or Environmental Legionella Isolation Techniques Evaluation, is a CDC designation for labs that have shown proficiency with isolating, growing, and identifying Legionella from samples collected in the environment. Traditional screening methods, however, can often take up to two weeks so a development like the one touted by Invisible Sentinel would certainly mark a significant improvement. The new…
Over the course of this blog, many subjects have been covered however perhaps as a reminder and as a step back, it is prudent to review exactly how individuals contract Legionnaires’ disease. As mentioned before, Legionnaires’ disease is often contracted by breathing in aerosolized water (and in some cases, soil) that has Legionella bacteria. As such, Legionnaires’ disease cannot be given from one individual to another. The Legionella bacteria grows the best in warm temperatures so can often thrive in locations like cooling towers, evaporative condensers, and hot water tanks. The Legionella pneumophila causes around 90% of all Legionnaires’ disease cases and can survive…
About a month ago, we began discussing the Quincy, Illinois Veterans Home outbreak. Since then, we have followed legislative attempts as well as the revelation last week that there were in fact 2 new cases found. Now just a week later, it was reported last night that there are, in fact, two additional cases stemming from the Qunicy, Illinois Veterans Home. The Illinois Department of Public Health made this announcement on Tuesday, just hours after the state’s Senate Democrats had held a series of hearings regarding the outbreaks. This fourth patient is apparently in stable condition and the central issue being discussed by Senate…
Last Wednesday, officials with the Illinois’ Department of Human Services made a statement that a patient at the Chester Mental Health Center, a mental health facility in southern Illinois, had tested positive for Legionnaires’ disease. In the statement, the officials also said that the patient from the mental health facility was being treated and is in stable condition. In response to the incident, the Chester Mental Health Center stated that it would be working with the Illinois’ Department of Public Health to find the source of the bacteria and maintain extensive monitoring other patients. In a news release earlier this week…
Over the course of the past month, we have not only covered various sporadic cases and outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease, but have also tried to shine light onto other developments within the field. A seemingly simple question, however, has been on my mind as I continue to go through these stories; is there a vaccine that could prevent individuals from being at risk to Legionnaires’ disease? And if there is not a vaccine, then why not? Well the first question is relatively simple to answer; no, there are currently no vaccines for Legionnaires’ disease. There have certainly been attempts to…
The source of Legionella bacteria and where individuals contract Legionnaires’ disease can often be unexpected. In a study from researchers out of the University of Padua, it was found that two men contracted Legionnaires’ disease after using two separate car washes in Italy. And while the location may seem somewhat surprising, according to microbiologist Dr Tom Makin, a senior consultant at Legionella control in the UK, perhaps it shouldn’t be. Indeed Dr. Makin remarks that, “(C)ar washes are capable of generating the right sized aerosols that can be inhaled into the lungs where the Legionella bacteria cause infection, such as pneumonia.’…