Monthly Archives: March 2011

Legionella Found in Hot Water System at Dayton, Ohio Hospital

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DAYTON – Tests have found the bacteria that cause Legionnaire’s disease were present in the hot water system at a new part of an Ohio hospital where 11 patients got sick.

According to the Associated Press, fficials at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton say the test results released Monday also show that superheating the water system and treating it with large amounts of chlorine killed the bacteria.

President and chief executive Bobbie Gerhart says in a statement that steps have been taken to make sure the water in the hospital’s new 12-story addition is safe for drinking, bathing and washing.
The hospital’s 11 cases of Legionnaire’s include a 73-year-old man who died Feb. 22, though the Dayton Daily News reports the death certificate does not specifically mention Legionnaires’ disease.

Seventh Legionnaires Disease Case in Miami Valley Hospital Confirmed

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DAYTON — A seventh Miami Valley Hospital patient has contracted Legionnaires’ disease, a hospital spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Hospital and Montgomery County public health officials on Tuesday had confirmed that one patient diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease — a Dayton man in his 70s — had died Feb. 21, and that two additional patients had contracted the disease, raising the total number of cases at the time to six.

The hospital announced the seventh case Wednesday afternoon.

The hospital said Legionella bacteria did not cause the man’s death. But the hospital declined to say if the disease was a contributing factor in the death, citing privacy concerns.

The hospital also said the physician filling out the man’s death certificate is not an employee of the hospital or its parent, Premier Health Partners.

The hospital said it has not yet received confirmation that Legionella bacteria had been present in the water system of its new patient tower. Another week could pass before those results are available.

Miami Valley instituted water restrictions in the new tower for three days last week after identifying the initial cluster of Legionnaires’ disease cases.

Legionnaires’ disease got its name in 1976, when high numbers of people attending an American Legion convention contracted the lung infection. Each year, 8,000 to 18,000 people are hospitalized with the disease in the U.S. It can cause death in 
5 percent to 30 percent of cases, but often is treated successfully with antibiotics.

From Dayton Daily News

Legionella Bacteria Identified at Playboy Mansion Water Source

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Los Angeles County public health officials have identified Legionella bacteria, which causes Legionnaires’ disease, at a water source at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles in its investigation of the source of illness that sickened people after a fundraiser earlier this month.

The Los Angeles Times reports that public health officials have suspected Legionnaires’ disease in the outbreak, a disease spread by bacteria that causes respiratory illness, such as a cough, and malaise, chills and fever.

Officials, however, have not ruled out other bacteria or viruses, because Legionella bacteria are commonly found in moist environments, Dr. Jonathan Fielding, director of the county Department of Public Health, said in a statement.

Health officials have said that the people fell ill after they attended DomainFest’s Feb. 1-3 conference, which culminated with a fundraiser at the Playboy Mansion in the Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles.

DomainFest released a statement Tuesday that urged those who attended the Feb. 3 fundraising event at the Playboy Mansion to fill out a confidential survey to assist health officials with their investigation.

The name of Legionnaires’ disease stems from its discovery in 1976 when attendees of an American Legion convention in Philadelphia became sick with the bacteria and developed pneumonia. About 8,000 to 18,000 people are hospitalized with the disease every year in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Healthy people usually recover from the bacterial disease, which can treated with antibiotics, but death can occur in 5% to 30% of cases, the CDC said.

OH hospital: Patients confirmed with Legionnaire’s

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DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — A hospital in Ohio says four patients over 60 have confirmed cases of Legionnaire’s disease, possibly from contaminated water in a new hospital building.

Officials at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton say one of the patients remains hospitalized while the other three have been discharged. The Dayton Daily News reports the hospital has declined to comment on the condition of the four, all heart patients.

The hospital is investigating whether the bacteria came from plumbing in its $135 million patient tower, which began admitting people in December. Dozens of other patients in the tower were notified Wednesday.

Legionnaire’s is a potentially deadly form of pneumonia caused by waterborne bacteria. The Daily News reports the illnesses were confirmed through tests earlier this month that identified an “unusual cluster” of cases.

Information from: Dayton Daily News