Regulations that require managers to test cooling towers in New York City have gone into effect as of July 6, 2016. After last year’s deadly South Bronx outbreak, in which 138 residents were sickened and 16 died, investigators determined that a contaminated cooling tower was the source of Legionella bacteria. Emergency regulations were passed requiring property owners to register their buildings and perform tests for Legionella. These temporary measures calmed public concern and created a list of cooling towers in the Bronx area, which will be used by investigators in the future. Now these measures have been made permanent, and the New…
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…
More cases of Legionnaires’ disease have been reported at an Illinois veterans’ home. The facility has been trying to prevent Legionella infection since an outbreak last August during which 54 people were sickened and 12 died. On Tuesday, the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs revealed two cases of Legionnaires’ disease that originated at the Quincy Illinois Veterans’ Home. Health officials said that the patients contracted the disease from separate buildings. The patients were treated at a hospital and are now recovering in the veterans’ home. These new cases come at a difficult time for the Quincy facility, which recently refurbished…
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 water management company has been accused of failure to carry out required tests after several people became ill with Legionnaires’ disease at a New Zealand plant. Solenis New Zealand is a branch of the Delaware-based water treatment company Solenis. The company was contracted by the multinational dairy company Fonterra to manage water quality at its plant in Pahiatua, New Zealand. After 13 people who worked at or near the plant became ill with Legionnaires’ disease or Pontiac fever, an investigation into Solenis’ testing practices was carried out. WorkSafe, the New Zealand government agency that oversees workplace health and safety,…
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…
A recent investigation into a pneumonia death in Flint has demonstrated the need for hospitals to release Legionella test results and for diligent testing of patients at risk for Legionnaires’ disease. In a June 28 article for Bridge Magazine, Chastity Pratt Dawsey reports on the case of Bertie Marble. Mrs. Marble, a 68-year-old resident of Flint, Michigan, passed away in March 2015 after a spell of ill health. During her final stay at McLaren Regional Medical Center in Flint, Mrs. Marble was diagnosed with “healthcare-associated pneumonia”. McLaren had found Legionella bacteria in its water system in late 2014 but had not revealed…