October 25, 2016 zacherlaw 0 Comments

An employee of Fiat Chrysler has contracted Legionnaires’ disease, and company officials are now conducting tests to ensure that their plant is not the source. The Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit, MI was built in 1991 and employs about 5,000 people. The company learned of the employee’s diagnosis on Wednesday. Though the source of the bacteria is still unknown, officials are now testing the water sources at the plant. The company’s “abundance of caution for the safety and welfare” of its employees is likely prompted by the recent attention that Legionnaires’ disease has received in the nearby Flint, MI…

October 19, 2016 zacherlaw 0 Comments

Two patients at the Overlake Hospital Medical Center in Bellevue, WA were diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease in September. One, a patient in her 50s, was treated for the disease at a different hospital six days after she visited Overlake’s emergency department. The other, a man in his 60s, had been in the hospital for treatment when he contracted the disease. The male patient had a compromised immune system due to a preexisting medical condition. Hospital officials have stated that it is unclear where the second patient contracted the disease. Preliminary tests, however, showed the presence of Legionella bacteria in a sink and…

October 17, 2016 zacherlaw 0 Comments

State health officials have identified the likely source of a record-setting Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in Hopkins, MN. The bacteria has been traced to a set of cooling towers at Citrus Systems, Inc., a local beverage manufacturer. 23 people have fallen ill with Legionnaires’ disease in Hopkins; 17 of them were hospitalized, and one died. The town has been struggling to identify the source of the outbreak since early September. Health officials studied the distribution of cases and the habits of the individuals affected; several water sources throughout the town were tested for Legionella bacteria. The investigation was eventually narrowed to cover a…

September 15, 2016 zacherlaw 0 Comments

The Minnesota Department of Health has confirmed six cases of Legionnaires’ disease in the city of Hopkins. The source of the bacteria remains unknown. All six of the patients are over 50 years old. As of Friday, three of the patients remained hospitalized; two had recovered, and the status of the most recent case remained unknown. The MDH is conducting tests and investigations into possible connections between the cases. Four of the patients live in Hopkins, but no further links have been found. Health officials are looking into supermarkets, ornamental fountains, and local buildings with cooling towers as potential sources.…

September 2, 2016 zacherlaw 0 Comments

SCI Pittsburgh has discovered unacceptably high levels of Legionella bacteria in its water supply. Prison officials have stated that water in a cooling tower and in the medical building has been contaminated. Routine testing for the bacteria revealed its presence and steps are now being taken to avoid an outbreak. Prison officials are distributing bottled drinking water to employees and inmates, and the showers in the medical buildings have been shut down. Showers in other buildings and cooking water remain unaffected, a spokesperson said. No inmates or employees are yet known to have been diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease. Since Legionnaires’…

August 25, 2016 zacherlaw 0 Comments

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.…

August 3, 2016 zacherlaw 0 Comments

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…

August 2, 2016 zacherlaw 0 Comments

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…

August 1, 2016 zacherlaw 0 Comments

  A pair of Legionnaires’ disease cases seem to have originated at the same apartment complex in Harlem. Two individuals who spent time at the Savoy Park Apartments on W 139th Street have been diagnosed with the disease over the past ten months; both have since recovered Investigators say that these cases should not be considered as part of an outbreak. Still, the city’s health department has been proactive in its response. These cases come in the wake of the deadly August 2015 outbreak of Legionnaires’ in the south Bronx, and health officials are on high alert. Once an investigation was…

July 28, 2016 zacherlaw 0 Comments

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…