Legionella Archives

November 11, 2025 zacherlaw 0 Comments

Norwegian Cruise Line Warns Passengers of Legionnaires’ Disease Cases

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has issued an urgent notice to current and former passengers of the Norwegian Epic following reports that two travelers were diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease after recent voyages aboard the 4,100-passenger ship. According to a passenger email shared with Cruise Radio, the alert—sent on November 4—was distributed to guests currently sailing on the ship’s 12-night Mediterranean itinerary from Rome to Lisbon, as well as to passengers who had recently completed earlier segments of the same voyage. NCL’s notice stated that it is unclear whether the guests were exposed aboard the ship or elsewhere. The company is now…

November 3, 2025 zacherlaw 0 Comments

Cooling Towers and Data Centers

Why Cooling Towers Are Used in AI-Driven Data Centers—and Why That Matters for Public Health As the world races to harness the power of artificial intelligence, the physical infrastructure behind AI is expanding at an unprecedented rate. Massive data centers—home to the servers powering models like GPT-5—are being built across the country. But with these high-performance computing facilities comes a lesser-known risk: the potential for outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease due to the use of cooling towers. High Heat, High Stakes: Why Cooling Towers? AI models require enormous computational power. Training a large language model or powering real-time AI tools demands…

Legionella Pneumophila Bacteria. 3D illustration

February 7, 2025 zacherlaw 0 Comments

Deadly Outbreak is Being Investigated at a Vermont Nursing Home: 6 Infected, 1 Dead – What You Need to Know NOW

According to the Vermont Department of Health, an outbreak of Legionnaires disease is being investigated at the Village at Cedar Hill, part of the Cedar Hill Continuing Care Community in Windsor, Vermont. As of January 29, 2025, six cases have been confirmed, with one resulting in death. healthvermont.gov eagletimes.com Understanding Legionnaires Disease Legionnaires disease is a severe form of pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria. Symptoms typically appear within 2 to 14 days after exposure and include: Cough Fever Headaches Muscle aches Shortness of breath Confusion Diarrhea or nausea The disease is treatable with antibiotics, but certain groups are at higher…

August 28, 2023 zacherlaw 0 Comments

Legionnaire’ disease cases in Las Vegas All Over Again

Two people who stayed at the Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino were recently diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease, as was also a former guest of the Orleans Hotel and Casino, according to the Southern Nevada Health District. Earlier this year, 2 Legionnaires disease cases were reported among guests at the Orleans , prompting an investigation. According to news reports, the Orleans’ water system was remediated and tested for the presence of the legionella bacteria, showing that there was no bacteria being detected at the time. Even so, after the additional recent new case was reported at the Orleans, environmental samples tested…

March 5, 2023 zacherlaw 0 Comments

Outbreak at Las Vegas Hotel

According to news reports, the Southern Nevada Health District is investigating two cases of Legionnaires’ disease at a hotel in Las Vegas. The guests stayed there in ecember 2022 and January 2023. Legionella bacteria was found at the Clarion Hotel again according to the news report. It appears that the legionella was found in the potable water system. This office has previously represented numerous guests who had stayed at the Aria Hotel in Las Vegas and acquired Legionnaires’ disease as part of an outbreak. These victims also acquired their disease from the potable water system. The transmission of the disease…

August 1, 2022 zacherlaw 0 Comments

Napa County Health Officials Investigating Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak

Following nine confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ Disease, Napa County health officials have announced they are opening an investigation. County officials have also identified two suspected cases and one “probable” case. All nine cases were reported to Napa County Public Health between July 11 and July 27. So far, all nine individuals have been hospitalized but there have not been any reported deaths, according to the county. The investigation is ongoing. To read more about the Napa County Health Officials Investigating Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak, click here. To read our firm’s white paper on Legionnaires’ disease and COVID-19, click here. For more…

July 18, 2022 zacherlaw 0 Comments

NYC Department of Health Officially Closes Investigation of Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak in The Bronx

Following the diagnosis of 30 confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ disease in the Highbridge section of the Bronx last month, the City’s Department of Health has officially closed the investigation. Four cooling towers in the Highbridge and Melrose section were found to be the source of the outbreak after they tested positive for the presence of Legionella, the bacteria that cause Legionnaires’ disease. In total, 30 cases were identified. 28 people were hospitalized, 24 have been discharged, and 2 have died. Remediation of the four cooling towers was ordered by the City’s Department of Health in early May. To read more…

June 27, 2022 zacherlaw 0 Comments

Avoiding Germs in Hotel Pools and Hot Tubs

The contents of this blog are based on a recent article in the New York Times, “How to Avoid Nasty Pool Germs This Summer” written by Melinda Wenner Moyer. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), about one-third of known outbreaks between 2015 and 2019 caused by germs in U.S. pools, hot tubs and water parks were traced back to hotels and motels. One theory for why resort pools and hot tubs account for such a large portion of outbreaks is that the person typically responsible for water quality maintenance is also responsible for a variety of other things…

June 18, 2022 zacherlaw 0 Comments

Health Department Closes Investigation of Highbridge Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak

Following the diagnosis of 30 confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ disease in the Highbridge section of the Bronx, the Health Department has now closed their investigation due to no new cases being identified in the last four weeks. Overall, 28 people were hospitalized, with 24 having been discharged, and 2 deaths. After investigating the cooling towers in the area for Legionella bacteria, the Health Department’s Public Health Laboratory have found that the source of the outbreak was a cooling tower located at 1325 Jerome Ave, 10452. The building owner was immediately ordered to disinfect the tower and perform additional remediation. To…

June 13, 2022 zacherlaw 0 Comments

Availability Bias and its Relationship with Legionnaires’ Disease and Covid-19

A case study, analyzing how availability bias has affected diagnoses of Covid-19 and Legionella, was recently published and presented a case study of a 56-year-old man who was improperly diagnosed with COVID-19. The patient came in exhibiting many symptoms and diagnostics commonly associated with COIVD-19. Further, he made it known that had had come in contact with confirmed cases of COVID-19 and was deemed to have a high probability of having contracted the disease. Although his COVID-19 tests came back negative three times, due to the powerful effect of anchoring, the diagnosis of COVID-19 remained high. However, on day two…