The hot tub and pool facilities at the Guest House at Graceland have been linked to an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease involving 9 people so far. Jules Zacher, Esq., has been retained by one of the individuals who is believed to be associated with this outbreak. The pool facilities were closed while the Shelby County Health Department completed their investigation, but as of Wednesday, July 19, 2017, the hotel was allowed to reopen their aquatics. Test results of the water taken from the facilities since news of the suspected outbreak broke now show that Legionella bacteria would no longer be able…
The estimated 350 residents of Westminster Towers retirement community have been warned to take necessary precautions after a former resident was diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease. Legionnaires’ disease is a severe form of pneumonia, and it is not yet clear how the former resident contracted the disease. The community’s management sent a letter to residents last Wednesday that provided information about Legionnaires’ disease, including symptoms and where to seek treatment. The Florida Department of Health in Orange County took water samples from the community last Thursday, and planned to hyperchlorinate the water later that day. The test results are expected to take…
Five cases of Legionnaires’ disease are believed to be associated with The Guest House at Graceland. While the hotel remains open to the public, the aquatic facilities at the hotel are currently closed. The Shelby County Health Department is working with the Tennessee Department of Health to investigate this area of the hotel as the possible source of the Legionella bacteria. Legionnaires’ disease is a type of pneumonia that is contracted by inhaling mist or water vapor contaminated with Legionella bacteria. Not everyone who comes in contact with Legionella bacteria develops Legionnaires’ disease. Those that are more susceptible are people over the…
Two LA Fitness centers were under investigation for Legionella bacteria after a total of four club members were diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease. The fitness center located at 12700 South Orange Blossom Trail recently tested positive for Legionella bacteria. Now, the fitness center at 4792 Kirkman Road has also tested positive for Legionella bacteria. Both gyms were advised by the health department to hyperchlorinate the water and put filters on shower heads located within their facilities. The facilities are awaiting the follow-up test results to see if these measures have eliminated the risk of Legionella transmission. LA Fitness has reportedly hired…
The LA Fitness club located at 12700 South Orange Blossom Trail in Orange County, Florida is one of two LA Fitness clubs in the area that have been under investigation after members contracted Legionnaires’ disease. A few of the water samples taken by the Florida Department of Health from the Blossom Trail facility have now come back positive for Legionella bacteria. This LA Fitness, as well as another location in Metro West have been under investigation since May of this year after a total of four cases of Legionnaires’ disease were found among members. Legionnaires’ disease is a severe form of…
One person is dead and six others have been hospitalized due to their illness with Legionnaires’ disease over the past 11 days in the Lenox Hill neighborhood of Manhattan, New York. The woman who passed was in her 90s and reportedly had underlying health issues, says the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The source of the outbreak is not yet known, but cooling systems within a half mile radius of those who have fallen ill are being tested as possible sources. The results from the 116 cooling systems under investigation may take up to two weeks. Legionnaires’ disease is caused…
Samaritan Medical Center had its water retested on May 15, 2017 after the legionella bacteria was in found in the hospital’s water systems. The hospital originally reported that it expected testing results to be returned by the following Friday; however, Spokeswoman Krista A. Kittle says that the testing will not be completing on the samples for at least another 10 days. For more information, click here
53-year-old New Zealand resident, Susan Dromgool, slipped into a two-week coma after contracting Legionnaires’ disease in December 2016. She had been using potting soil to plant succulents and believed she had taken the appropriate safety measures since she wore gloves and used the potting mix in a well-ventilated area. However, the evening after planting the succulents, she began to experience chills and her symptoms progressively got worse. She was admitted to the hospital and put in an induced coma. She woke up approximately two weeks later with no memory of the events surrounding her illness. Ms. Dromgool gradually recovered and…
Health officials in Fresno County, Calif. reported earlier this week that a patient at a nursing home died due to Legionnaires’ disease. Additional details about the patient and date of death were not released; however, the health department has been investigating the NorthPointe Health Centre since January 23, 2017. According to health officials, no other cases of Legionnaires’ disease were identified at this nursing home. A different nursing home, Horizon Health & Subacute Center in northeast Fresno, however, also experienced a Legionella scare in January when the bacteria were found at the facility. A resident was diagnosed with a respiratory illness, but the…
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services was previously prohibited from accessing documents about Legionella cases at McLaren-Flint Hospital due to a protective order. However, now the Michigan Court of Appeals has ordered the hospital to produce these documents. The Department was trying to obtain these documents to investigate the cases of Legionnaires’ disease caused by the contaminated water in Flint, Michigan. According to a spokesperson for Governor Rick Snyder – Anna Heaton – the Protective Order prevented the Department from performing their duties of protecting the public. The Hospital felt the Protective Order was necessary due to lawsuits…