Modern life gives soon-to-be mothers a range of options to chose from when preparing to bring her child into the world. Increasingly, mothers are opting for a natural birth with some choosing to delivery their babies at home as opposed to at a hospital. A method of delivery known as water birthing has grown increasingly popular as part of this trend. During these births, a mother sits half submerged in a pool or tub of warm water as she delivers her child. As a form of natural birth, proponents claim that water births provides the mother with some small comfort…
According to the World Health Organization, males are three times more likely to acquire Legionnaires’ Disease than women. (source) As of now, there is no vaccine for Legionnaires’ Disease. The most common form of treatment is typically antibiotics. 75% of reported Legionnaires’ Disease cases are aged 50 years and older. (source) Legionnaires’ Disease is most likely to occur in the summer months. This is because legionella bacteria thrives in warmer water. (source) While Legionnaires’ Disease is typically transmitted by aerosolized water droplets, there have been numerous outbreaks of Legionnaires’ Disease that have been caused by legionella bacteria found in potting…
The Victoria Department of Health and Human Services are investigating an outbreak of Legionnaires Disease in downtown Melbourne believed to have infected at least six people within the past two weeks, with more potential cases being investigated. All six of the victims are reported to have worked in or visited the east side of Melbourne’s Central Business District. One of the victims is said to have been hospitalized within an intensive care unit. All reported victims have been released from the hospital. The health authorities believe that the outbreak is tied to 92 cooling towers within the Central Business District of Melbourne. As…
Researchers at the Chemical Genomics Center of the Max Planck Society in Munich have promising results from their study of legionella infections. Legionellosis, the process of infection by legionella bacteria, is a particularly evasive infection. The body’s typical immune response involves ‘eating up’ foreign intruders such as bacteria and viruses in a process known as autophagy, ultimately preventing the onset of diseases and infections. A molecule known as LC3-PE is responsible for this process. Legionella bacteria has been found to contain a molecule, called RavZ, that disrupts the actions of LC3-PE and ultimately allows legionella bacteria to propagate within the body,…
According to a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court in Early April, four cancer patients staying at the Hope Lodge, an American Cancer Society facility that temporarily houses cancer patients, contracted Legionnaires Disease in early 2015. Of the four cases, Joan Pederson, a 62 year old brain cancer patient was the first and only recorded death associated with the outbreak. Pederson had to stop treatment for her brain cancer for weeks in order to receive treatment for her Legionnaires’ Disease. This outbreak was overshadowed by the much larger, concurrent Bronx outbreaks in which more than 100 people were affected, and…
St Elizabeth Medical Center in Utica, New York has found small amounts of legionella bacteria in a handful of sampling locations throughout the campus. The results have been reported to the New York State Department of Health, and the hospital is currently in the process of remediating the presence of legionella. The tests were conducted in accordance with New York state guidelines that require all hospitals within the state to routinely sample their facilities for the presence of legionella. These guidelines were implemented in mid-2016 in response to two deadly outbreaks of Legionnaires’ Disease in the Bronx that took the lives of…
The former director of disease control and prevention at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Corrine Miller, has been sentenced for her involvement in the 2014-2015 outbreak of Legionnaires Disease that killed 12 people in Flint. Corrine Miller admitted to knowing about 100 cases of Legionnaires Disease in the Flint area and failing to report these findings to local hospitals, as well as the general public. Last September, Miller pleaded no contest to a charge of willful neglect of duty, the least serious of the charges filed against her. Miller received 1 year of probation, as well as…
An emergency has been declared in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. A Legionella bacterium has been found in the water systems in multiple apartment buildings resulting in the Emergency Commission activating an emergency operations center to handle it. Two apartment blocks in the Zirmunai neighborhood tested positive for the bacteria that causes Legionnaires disease and a third block in the Lazdynai neighborhood is being tested. “We have two deaths and a third incident is still under investigation. This affects over 500 people because there are three buildings and it takes more than 24 hours to eliminate (the emergency situation). Based…
Faltec Europe Ltd, a car parts firm in the UK, has admitted charges relating to an outbreak of Legionnaires’ Disease and an explosion on it’s premises. In 2015 the factory was ordered to shut down four cooling towers by the Health and Safety Executive following the discovery of significant levels of legionella were found on site. Between October 2014 and May 2015 four workers and a nearby resident were hospitalized. In September 2015 the company was given the all clear after following safety measures. Another investigation by the Health and Safety Executive relates to the explosion risks at the plant in…