Legionnaires' Disease Outbreaks 2007-2008

Fitness club members in Orlando, 2008
Three members of a health club in Orlando contracted Legionnaires' disease in 2008. All three had swam in the club’s indoor pool, used the hot tub, and showered there. One of those who became ill was a 33-year old woman. The other two were 65 and 70 years of age. All three survived. Source: orlandosentinel.com   Top
 

Eleven infant cases and 3 deaths, Cyprus hospital, Dec. 2008
Eleven infants born between December 18 and 22 at a private hospital in Cyprus contracted Legionnaires’ disease. The babies were discharged from the private hospital in good condition but then admitted to the intensive care unit of another hospital between December 25 and 29 because of Legionnaires' symptoms. Three of the children have died. As of January 20th, one of the babies was still in the hospital, not yet able to breath on its own. The other seven have been treated and released. Reports indicate that portable ultrasonic humidifiers were the source. The maternity ward and nursery were closed on December 29th, immediately following laboratory confirmation of the first cases. Sources: news media and Eurosurveillance. Top

NJ Hospital, 8 cases, Sept. 2008
Eight patients on the same oncology wing of a New Jersey hospital contracted Legionnaires' disease in mid to late September, three of whom have died. Legionella was found in the plumbing system in both hot and cold water.  Top

Chicago suburb, 6 cases, Sept. 2008
Five cases of Legionnaires' disease in Tinley Park and one in Orland Park were diagnosed between September 11th October 1st. All six were hospitalized and have recovered. Investigators have not identified the source of the outbreak. Source: thetimesonline.com  Top

Scarborough, UK, 3 cases, Sept. 2008
Two residents of Scarborough and a visitor to the area contracted Legionnaires' disease in September. Two of the three have recovered but the other has died. Investigators could not determine the source of the outbreak.  Top

Las Vegas resort, August-Oct. 2008
Health officials said two guests of a Las Vegas resort were diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease in 2007 and another two in the past two months. All four have recovered. The same resort was associated with an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in 2001. Source: Review-Journal and AP  Top

Oneida County, NY, 7 cases, July-Sept. 2008
The Oneida County Health Department has not identified a common link for seven cases of Legionnaires’ disease that occurred in the Upstate New York county from July through October 3rd. All seven have recovered. Sources: uticaod.com and romesentinel.com  Top

Rochester, NY, Nursing Home, 2 Cases, Sept. 2008
Two residents of an assisted living facility in the Rochester area contracted Legionnaires' disease. The first case occurred in late August and the second about two weeks later. Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.   Top

Ontario, 7 Cases, August 2008
Seven residents of Hamilton, Ontario contracted Legionnaires' disease in August. Although the cases live in the same area, no common source has been identified. All seven have recovered or are expected to.  Top

Elmira, NY, 13 Cases, 1 Death, August 2008
County health officials reported that 13 residents of a senior housing complex in Elmira, New York contacted Legionnaires' disease in August. One of them has died.   Top

Norway, 5 Cases, 2 Deaths, July 2008
Eastern Norway experienced an outbreak of Legionnaire’s disease in five people from mid-June to late July, two of whom have died.   Top

Syracuse, NY, 13 Cases, 1 Death, July 2008
An outbreak of Legionnaires' disease, beginning on June 30, in the Onondaga Hill area of Syracuse resulted in 13 infected persons, of whom six were patients at a hospital and one a resident of a nursing home. One of the infected persons has died.   Top

Barcelona, 9 Cases, July 2008
Nine cases of Legionnaires disease occurred in Barcelona among persons living in the east part of Cerdanyola, which is close to where an outbreak ofmore than 100 cases of LD occurred in the summer of 2002. All nine patients were hospitalized and recovered. The first few cases were identified the first week in July.  Top

Charleston, WV, 3 cases, 1 Death, June 2008
One male and two female residents of Charleston, West Virginia contracted Legionnaires' disease over a two-week period in June. One of the women died and the other two persons were hospitalized in intensive care. The source of contamination was not identified. Source: The Charleston Gazette  Top

Dublin Office Workers, 2 Cases, June 2008
Two office workers contracted Legionnaires disease in Dublin. The first was diagnosed on June 27 and the other about 10 days later. The office building’s cooling tower was the suspected source. Source: dublinpeople.com  Top

Illinois Hotel Guests, 5 Cases, June 2008
In May and June, five confirmed cases of Legionnaires disease occurred among guests of a hotel in McHenry, Illinois. The hotel hot tub was the suspected source for at least two of the cases. Source: Chicago Tribune  Top

Michigan, 3 Cases, May 2008
In a period of about 30 days in April and May, three older men living in Norton Shores, Michigan contracted Legionnaires' disease. One of the men died. As of the date of the news report, a source had not been identified. Source: woodtv.com  Top

Car Wash in Victoria, Australia, 5 cases, May 2008
Four men, ages 30, 45, 51, and 55, and a 48-year-old woman were hospitalized in Werribee in May after contracting Legionnaires' disease. The Department of Human Services closed down a car wash after finding that four of the five cases had used it. Sources: Australia Herald Sun and Star News Group    Top

Vermont Hotel, 3 Cases, April 2008
State health officials closed a Vermont hotel in April after confirming a third case of Legionnaires' disease among its guests over a six month period. The hotel guests were
asked to leave and all hotel employees ordered out. The health department issued a 17-step remediation plan for the hotel that included initial and continuous chlorination and additional water testing. Source: news media  Top

Orlando hotel guests, 4 cases, March 2008
Guests of an Orlando hotel were asked to leave in mid-March after two were hospitalized with Legionnaires' disease. After further investigation, the Orange County Health Department confirmed a total of four cases among the hotel's guests. The hotel was voluntarily shut down for a brief period. Source: news media. News video:
http://www.local6.com/health/15595503/detail.html.   Top

Water Tank Workers in Iran, 4 cases, Jan. 2008
In January four individuals suspected of having SARS were admitted to an Iranian hospital where it was later determined that they were suffering from Legionnaires' disease. Their job was to clean water tanks. Source: Gulf News.  Top

Long Island Senior Centers, 5 Cases, 3 Deaths, September 2007
Three people housed in two senior facilities in Roslyn Heights, New York, died after contracting Legionnaires’ disease in late September. Two other residents contracted the disease and recovered. Residents were restricted from using showers and whirlpool baths until the water systems were disinfected. Source: news media   Top

UK, 5 Cases, August 2007
Five cases of legionnaire’s disease were reported in Dudley, West Midlands, UK, late last summer but source of the outbreak was not identified. Source: BBC News   Top

European Coach Tour, 2 Cases, 1 Death, August 2007
Two travelers were reported to have contracted Legionnaire’s disease while on a coach tour to France, Switzerland, and Italy in August. One of them, a Scottish man, died in a hospital after returning from the tour. Two other passengers with Legionnaires' symptoms were to be tested for Legionella. The 41 coach passengers stayed in seven hotels over the 13-day tour. Source: Scotman.com   Top

Two Paper Mill Employees, South Africa, August 2007
Legionnaires' disease was confirmed in two employees of a paper mill in Mpumalanga, South Africa, in August. Both were treated and recovered. A cooling tower was the suspected but unconfirmed source of Legionella. Source: Independent Online South Africa   Top

Spain, 18 Cases, 2 Deaths, Cooling Tower, July 2007
State prosecutors were reportedly considering bringing manslaughter charges against an ice rink owner whose cooling tower was blamed for 18 cases of Legionnaires' disease on Spain's Costa del Sol. All 18 people who contracted the disease either lived near or regularly walked past the rink. James Olsen, 68, was hospitalized on July 2 with pneumonia symptoms and died on July 9. British journalist Dennis Wills, 63, died August 12, after six weeks in intensive care. Source: Daily Mail, UK  Top

Bus Washing Equipment, New York State, June-July 2007
City bus washing equipment using recycled water may have been the source of Legionella bacteria that caused Legionnaires' disease in two workers last summer. Both employees had to be hospitalized but recovered. The first employee, a 60-year-old mechanic, became ill in June. On July 20, the city was notified by the Rensselaer County (New York) Health Department that a second worker from the same depot, a 41-year-old driver, had been diagnosed with the disease. Both employees were cigarette smokers. Speculating as to how the driver may have been infected, the executive director of the transportation authority said, "When the bus washer is operated, the pre-rinse and the post-rinse are both fine mists, so if you're walking past the bay in the depot, you can be exposed -- even if you're walking outside the door." Legionella was found in the water supplying the bus washer. The transportation authority is taking steps to improve the sanitation of its bus washing equipment. Source: Times Union, Albany. Editor’s note: Cold water systems should not be overlooked as potential sources of Legionella bacteria, especially in the summer, when “cold” water is often over 21°C (70°F).  Top

Russia, 150 Cases, 4 Deaths, July 2007
Since mid July, 175 people have been hospitalized due to a pneumonia outbreak in the Urals region of Russia. A total of 150 have been diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease, 66 of which were confirmed by laboratory tests. At least four have died. The startup of the hot water supply following a lengthy shutdown for maintenance is believed to have caused the outbreak. Most apartment buildings in Russia receive hot water from thermal plants rather than from water heaters within the buildings. The hot water supplies are typically shut down for a few weeks each summer for maintenance.   Top

Cruise ship, 2 Cases, July 2007
Seven passengers became sick with flu-like symptoms while on a Baltic cruise in late July. Pneumonia was confirmed in four passengers, two whose sputum was PCR-positive for Legionella. Legionella was found in water samples collected from the ship by health officials.  Top

Spain, 15 Cases, 1 Death, June 2007
A cooling tower at an ice rink in Malaga, Spain has been blamed for fifteen cases of Legionnaires' disease that occurred in June, one of which resulted in death. All the people who became ill either live near the ice rink or had passed close by it prior to getting sick. A “very high concentration” of Legionella pneumophila was found in the cooling tower. Source: SUR Newspaper   Top

UK Hotel, 5 Cases, June 2007
Five people who stayed at a hotel in Strathpeffer in June contracted legionnaires’ disease. The cases were confirmed by blood tests. Health officials required an action plan including a risk assessment and a water monitoring program. Source: BBC News   Top

Netherlands Hospital, 4 Cases, 1 Death, May 2007
On May 22, a patient in a Dutch hospital died after contracting Legionnaires' disease. Three other patients contracted the disease and recovered. The hospital showers were reported as the source of Legionella contamination. Source: DutchNews.nl   Top

Sydney,6 Cases, January 2007
Six individuals who were in the Circular Quay area of Sydney on New Year's Eve contracted Legionnaires' disease. A cooling tower in which 1,400 cfu/ml Legionella was found is a suspected but unconfirmed source of the outbreak. Source: The Sydney Morning Herald   Top