Thirteen cases of Legionnaires’ disease in Saratoga Springs, NY have prompted health officials to launch an investigation. After extensive testing, a nursing home in the area has reported the presence of Legionella bacteria in its water system. Nine of the thirteen cases of Legionnaires’ disease in the city have been linked to the Wesley Health Care Center, and two of the patients suffering from the disease have died. State health officials recommended that management at Wesley, a nursing home and health campus, test their water supply. Nearly forty water samples were taken from the campus. Results have now returned and indicate that Legionella bacteria is…
Three former residents and one employee of Wesley Health Care Center in Saratoga Springs, New York tested positive for Legionella bacteria. The former residents were staying on the same floor while involved in short-term rehabilitation programs at the nursing home. The facility last performed routine tests for Legionella on September 2, 2016, yielding negative results. Saratoga Hospital informed Wesley Health Care Center of the cases of Legionnaires’ disease on October 13, 2016, and dozens of water samples have been taken from the facility since then in an attempt to determine if it is the source of the bacteria. The results of those tests are not yet…
Lead researcher Dr. Jeffrey Griffiths of Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, who serves as a professor of public health and medicine, explained that his team analyzed 100 million Medicare records dated between 1991 and 2006. During that time, over 617,000 Americans had been hospitalized due to infection resulting from exposure to Legionella, which is responsible for Legionnaires’ disease; pseudomonas, which can develop into pneumonia; and mycobacteria, which can cause tuberculosis among other illnesses. These bacteria can live in pipes and survive on small amounts of nutrients found in water. Although most often water treatment plants are in place to help…
Two individuals were diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease at the Ussery Roan Veterans’ Home at the end of August this year. Officials confirmed that one patient is being treated at the nursing home, while the other is being treated at Amarillo VA Hospital. Both patients appear to be improving and are expected to recover at this time. Brittany Eck is the Press Secretary for the Texas General Land Office, or the agency that oversees the operation of eight VA nursing homes in Texas. Eck stated that after notification of the diagnoses, the agency quickly began working with the Amarillo Public Health Department and…
New water risk management legislation has been passed in Queensland, Australia in the aftermath of a string of outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease at hospitals. A string of illnesses and deaths in hospitals has raised awareness of the risks of Legionnaires’ disease in Queensland. A 2013 outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease at The Wesley Hospital, a private hospital in Brisbane, led to the tragic death of one cancer patient and placed another in intensive care. The bacteria was found in the hospital’s hot water system. This outbreak prompted a string of tests and responses, and the hospital put intensified water-testing measures…