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…
A cluster of Legionnaires’ disease cases has appeared in the southeastern part of New Mexico. Since the first week of October this year, six patients from Chaves County have been reported ill with the disease. Two of these individuals– a 69-year old woman and a 65-year old woman – have passed away. The six who became ill were known to have other health issues that increased their risk of developing Legionnaires’ disease. The New Mexico Department of Health is working alongside Eastern New Mexico Medical Center to determine the source. The six known cases are among individuals who live in the…
The Ohio Department of Health, in collaboration with the Lake County General Health district, has confirmed the cooling tower of a local business as the source of an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease. The outbreak, which began in July, seems to have had several sources, and the cooling tower has been linked to at least three of the ten cases. Health officials announced that an environmental assessment at Consolidated Precision Products, a business in Eastlake, revealed the presence of Legionella bacteria on November 16, 2016. At least three cases of Legionnaires’ disease were reported in September among individuals who had spent time in the…
Thirteen cases of Legionnaires’ disease in Saratoga Springs, NY have prompted health officials to launch an investigation. After extensive testing, a nursing home in the area has reported the presence of Legionella bacteria in its water system. Nine of the thirteen cases of Legionnaires’ disease in the city have been linked to the Wesley Health Care Center, and two of the patients suffering from the disease have died. State health officials recommended that management at Wesley, a nursing home and health campus, test their water supply. Nearly forty water samples were taken from the campus. Results have now returned and indicate that Legionella bacteria is…
Three people that visited the Red Roof Inn in Danville, Illinois between October 2015 and September 2016 developed Legionnaires’ disease. Two of these people are residents of Michigan that were traveling together, while the third is a resident of northern Illinois. The Illinois Department of Public Health collected samples from the swimming pool, spa, and a guest room at the hotel on October 5, 2016 to test for the presence of Legionella bacteria. However, on Wednesday, October 26, 2016, Vermilion County Health Administrator Doug Toole announced that the 10 samples collected at the hotel all tested negative for Legionella. Toole also indicated that…
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…
Twelve people have been diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease in Niagara County. Eight of those diagnosed are associated with the Lockport area specifically. A cooling tower at the Eastern Niagara Hospital in Lockport recently tested positive for Legionella bacteria. Under the 2016 New York state regulations, cooling towers must be regularly tested for Legionella, and any cooling towers that test positive must report it to the state and local departments of health. The hospital advised they have since re-cleaned and disinfected the cooling tower, and also in accordance with the 2016 New York state regulations they will also conduct additional testing…
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…
Officials have updated the number of cases of Legionnaires’ disease associated with the La Quinta Inn & Suites in Memphis, TN. The Shelby County Health Department says that there are now seven confirmed cases of the disease among guests of the hotel, in addition to twenty-three possible cases. The hotel was shut down on September 22 after five former guests were diagnosed with Legionnaires’ and the outbreak was linked to the hotel. The hotel’s franchise owners worked with various health departments to eliminate the bacteria from the water supply. Now, the hotel is planning to reopen after a shutdown of nearly two weeks. No…
Several cooling towers in the town of Hopkins, MN are under investigation as the number of reported cases of Legionnaires’ disease continues to rise. The town has seen 23 cases of the disease within the past two months, one of them fatal. Residents of the town, which has a population of 18,000, were told last week that the Minnesota Department of Health is conducting tests on several water towers. The seven water towers under investigation have been named. Testing samples have been taken and the towers are now undergoing routine disinfection, though test results for Legionella are not yet available. No…