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…
American Airlines at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport said that it tested water samples at four of its maintenance hangars after an employee developed Legionnaires’ disease. The findings revealed varying levels of Legionella bacteria in eight shower heads, as well as some faucets and water fountains within those hangars. The employee has since recovered, but it is unclear at this time whether or not the bacteria found at the hangars were responsible for the employee’s illness. Vinny Taneja, Public Health Director of Tarrant County, stated that his agency is working with American Airlines to discuss recommendations to address the Legionella issue such as…
Numbers continue to grow in the ongoing investigation in Hopkins, MN, and officials still are unsure what the source of the Legionella responsible for this outbreak might be. Currently, the total confirmed cases found associated with the Hopkins area adds up to 20, with one case resulting in the victim’s death. The victims of the disease were found to live, work, or have visited the Hopkins, Minnesota area prior to September 9, 2016. Although some measures to eradicate the possible source of the outbreak have already been taken- such as disinfecting cooling towers atop some local businesses and shutting down…
The University of Washington Medical Center began the remediation process following the Legionnaires’ disease diagnoses of four patients treated at their facility. Two of these patients have since passed. However, while the facility believed that their efforts had eliminated the bacteria, on Monday, September 26, 2016, officials announced a fifth case of Legionnaires’ disease associated with the facility. UW Medical Center implemented the use of filters and flushed their water system with chlorine on September 19th and 20th. These efforts were believed to have abolished Legionella bacteria from the Cascade Tower, which was thought to be the cause of the outbreak. While the fifth diagnosed patient…
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…
Sinks and an ice machine at the University of Washington’s Medical Center in Seattle tested positive for Legionella bacteria last week; however, as of Monday, officials reported that the bacteria was also found within three CardiQuip heater-cooler machines at the facility. Heater-cooler machines are utilized during heart surgeries to regulate blood temperature. The machines tested positive for Legionella after an investigation was launched, following four confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ disease in those that were treated there. Two of these patients have since died. The federal Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) reported 32 infections associated with heater-cooler machines within the period…
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…
A fourth resident of the Illinois Veterans’ Home in Quincy, Illinois was diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease. Another case of Legionnaires’ disease was also recently confirmed in the Quincy area, but this case does not appear to be associated with the Veterans’ Home in any way. A spokesman with the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, Dave MacDonna, indicated that the source of the Legionella bacteria that is responsible for this fourth case associated with the facility has not yet been determined. The gentleman’s room, where he eats, where he relaxes, and the building where he lives have all been eliminated as possible sources of exposure to the bacteria. In light of four positive…
IDEXX Laboratories world campus in Westbrook, Maine IDEXX Laboratories, Inc., has developed an innovative water test called Legiolert™ to detect the presence of Legionella pneumophila in water sources, such as drinking water. This detection system can accurately depict the presence of Legionella pneumophila in potable water systems in seven days, as opposed to up to fourteen days using the customary culture methods of detecting the bacteria. Legiolert™ allows testers to skip steps of the usual testing procedures, such as colony counting and confirmation, which saves valuable laboratory time and reduces both the need for training and the risk of interpretation errors. Legionella pneumophila is the primary source of…
A Lockheed Martin plant in Marietta, GA has been dealing with a possible outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease. Two plant workers were recently diagnosed with the disease Administrators circulated an internal memo on July 28 stating that Legionella experts had conducted initial tests for the bacteria; these tests turned out negative. The company states that it plans to continue testing at the facility and to make changes to its water treatment system. These two cases are the first in Marietta to be linked to a single location, but now some former workers who contracted the disease are coming forward with their stories.…