Officials at the University of Michigan at Flint have announced that Legionella bacteria have been found in a residence hall on campus. No associated cases of Legionnaires’ disease have yet been reported. Three locations within the water supply of the Riverfront Residence Hall, a dormitory located on the banks of Flint River, have tested positive for Legionella. UM-Flint Chancellor Susan Borrego has stated that university officials are flushing the water system in the dorm and consulting health authorities. The CDC and the Genesee County Health Department have been notified and have confirmed that none of the 10 cases reported in Genesee County so…
A patient at the UW Medical Center in Seattle, WA has filed a claim against the hospital after she contracted Legionnaires’ disease while recovering from a transplant. Victoria Martin, 32, underwent a successful heart transplant on August 8, 2016. She was placed on a standard program of immunosuppressant drugs, which made her more vulnerable to infections and bactera such as Legionella. When she contracted Legionnaires’ disease after the transplant, she was put on a respirator in the ICU for 25 days. She spent a total of 35 days in the hospital undergoing treatment for the disease. She still returns to…
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…
The La Quinta Inn & Suites in Memphis, Tennessee has been closed since September 22, 2016, following 6 confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ disease in people that stayed there. Prior to close, the hotel distributed a letter by the Shelby County Health Department that urged anyone who experienced symptoms such as cough, shortness of breath, fever, muscle aches, or headaches after staying there to seek medical attention. However, the hotel now has reason to believe that around 6,000 people could have been exposed to the Legionella bacteria responsible for the outbreak between July 1, 2016 and September 22, 2016. They are now…
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…
The La Quinta Inn & Suites located by the Memphis International Airport was closed Thursday morning, thanks to Shelby County health officials. The hotel is being investigated by the Tennessee Department of Health and the federal Centers for Disease Control after five people who reported staying there this past August contracted Legionnaires’ disease. Prior to its close, the hotel distributed a letter by the Shelby County Health Department to its guests that urged anyone who experienced symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease within a two week period from being at the hotel to seek medical attention. However, many guests feel that they…
Corinne Miller, former Director of Disease Control and Prevention within the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Corinne Miller, who retired earlier this year from her position as the Director of Disease Control and Prevention within the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, accepted a plea agreement last week regarding her involvement in the Flint water crisis. Miller plead no-contest to a misdemeanor charge of willful neglect of duty by a public officer, relinquishing two felony charges. Her misdemeanor charge may even be dismissed after her probation is completed. The plea acknowledges that Miller was aware of dozens of cases of…
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…