Legionella Outbreak at Ohio Nursing Home

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Three residents of a Cuyahoga County nursing home have been treated for Legionella, a bacterial infection related to Legionnaire’s Disease.

MetroHealth confirms the patients were living at the Elizabeth Severance Prentiss Center for Skilled Nursing on Scranton Road in Cleveland. Two have been treated and released, one is still hospitalized at MetroHealth Medical Center.

County officials are taking precautions recommended by the Centers for Disease Control. They are sterilizing the building and the water supply, switching to bottled water, and suspending showers for residents.

Legionella bacteria is usually transmitted through drinking water, air conditioning units and water sprays often found in cooling stations and produce sprays at grocery stores. It is not spread from person to person.

Symptoms include headache, fever, muscle aches. In severe cases, Legionella can lead to pneumonia. It is treated with antibiotics.

From WEWS 5