Over the course of the past month, we have not only covered various sporadic cases and outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease, but have also tried to shine light onto other developments within the field. A seemingly simple question, however, has been on my mind as I continue to go through these stories; is there a vaccine that could prevent individuals from being at risk to Legionnaires’ disease? And if there is not a vaccine, then why not? Well the first question is relatively simple to answer; no, there are currently no vaccines for Legionnaires’ disease. There have certainly been attempts to…
The source of Legionella bacteria and where individuals contract Legionnaires’ disease can often be unexpected. In a study from researchers out of the University of Padua, it was found that two men contracted Legionnaires’ disease after using two separate car washes in Italy. And while the location may seem somewhat surprising, according to microbiologist Dr Tom Makin, a senior consultant at Legionella control in the UK, perhaps it shouldn’t be. Indeed Dr. Makin remarks that, “(C)ar washes are capable of generating the right sized aerosols that can be inhaled into the lungs where the Legionella bacteria cause infection, such as pneumonia.’…
NSF International, a global public health organization that develops standards and tests and certifies products for the water, food, consumer goods and health sciences industries will be hosting the first ever Legionella Conference alongside the National Science Foundation. The conference, specifically entitled the Legionella Conference 2018 – Managing Legionella and Other Pathogens in Building Water Systems, will be occurring from May 9-11, 2018, in Baltimore, Maryland and represents the first time experts with various backgrounds including from academia, medicine, industry, public health and government will come together in order to discuss Legionella along with other related pathogens which can be found in water distribution systems. Specifically, the conference…
This past weekend, it was reported by WKBW Buffalo that the Buffalo Public Schools were investigating a potential claim of Legionella being found at the Districts office. According to the report, the bacteria was found in a single water sample and furthermore, according to a spokesperson for the Buffalo Public Schools, it is unclear whether this finding is accurate. Part of the reason for the lack of clarity is due to there not being any current standards for Legionella testing in buildings that are not health related. This is in addition to the fact that individuals associated with the Buffalo…
Over the past few weeks, we have been following the Quincy, Illinois Veterans Home outbreak, one which has so far contributed to the death of 13 residents of the Veterans home while infecting dozens more. Now, as of this morning, officials have come forward and reported that in fact two additional confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ disease among the residents of the veterans’ home have been discovered. Meanwhile the Illinois Department of Public Health made an announcement Monday evening that it had already removed faucets from residents’ rooms in the veteran’s home and were collecting water samples along with taking other…
An earlier post of ours discussed the discovery of Legionella at the Illinois State Capitol complex. In our initial discussion, it was found that one out of the ten locations which were tested was found to have Legionella and furthermore, was at the Armory, which was vacant and uninhabited. Now, testing appears to suggest a larger incident occurring. According to state officials, preliminary testing shows Legionella bacteria being found in numerous other locations around the Illinois State Capitol complex. As the (Springfield) State Journal-Register reports, the Illinois Secretary of State’s office sent out a memo on Wednesday stating that there…
On Tuesday, February 6, 2018, a Brooke Army Medical Center staff member was confirmed to have Legionnaires’ disease. This confirmation was made by the Brooke Army Medical Center spokesman Robert Whetstone on Wednesday, February 7, 2018 and in addition to the two previous cases of Legionnaires disease reported last August, makes this incident officially an outbreak according to the Emerging and Acute Infectious Disease Guidelines. According to Mr. Whetstone, “the health and safety of our patients and staff is our top priority, and we are working diligently with local and regional public health officials to investigate this matter,”. In addition, Whetstone added that Brooke…
Once more, it appears perhaps a prudent time to take a step back to examine Legionnaires’ disease. As such, while in a previous post we discussed some of the signs, symptoms, and diagnostic methods for identifying Legionnaires’ disease, today’s post seeks to review the history of Legionnaires’ disease. While Legionella bacteria and Legionnaires’ disease has presumably existed for a very long time, it was only truly discovered and researched after an outbreak in 1976. At a convention of the American Legion in Philadelphia, numerous attendees began to suffer from this type of pneumonia, i.e. lung infection, a phenomena which garnered…
Last Thursday, February 1, 2018, Frans Timmermans, the vice-president of the European commission, announced changes to the drinking water directive which put additional responsibilities on national governments within the EU. These responsibilities, specifically, would push national governments to provide greater access to drinking fountains as well as prompt additional restaurants to offer free tap water. This is all being done to reduce plastic waste and ultimately improve the health of Europeans yet in order to do this second objective fully, the initiative must also ensure water safety is being elevated as well. This means that this current push will not only raise…
Back in June of 2017, public health officials began to learn about the outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease which occurred at the Rio Hotel-Casino, an outbreak which initially involved only 2 reported cases. Now, nearly 8 months later, the Southern Nevada Health District is reporting that in fact the Rio Hotel-Casino outbreak in fact involved 7 confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ disease with a potential of 29 additional cases being suspected. This kind of continued treatment and additional cases being revealed is, in some ways, relatively normal for a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak. As Robert Cole, senior environmental health specialist for the Southern…