Legionella E-news -- 11 December 2007

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Legionella E-news, 11 December 2007
HC Information Resources Inc.
Matthew R. Freije, Editor

**IN THIS ISSUE**
1. Two Bus Wash Workers Contract Legionnaires' Disease
2. Eighteen Cases and Two Deaths Attributed to Ice Rink Cooling Tower
3. Five Cases in the UK
4. Scottish Man Dies from Legionnaires' Disease After 13-Day Coach Tour
5. Five Cases and Three Deaths among Residents of Long Island Senior Centers
6. Two Paper Mill Employees Contract LD
7. Travel-Associated LD in Italy, Spain and France, July 2002 - June 2006
8. Legionnaires’ disease in Europe, 2005-2006
9. Pittsburgh Group Cites Study in Calling for Legionella Testing

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1. TWO BUS WASH WORKERS CONTRACT LEGIONNAIRES DISEASE
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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).

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2. EIGHTEEN CASES AND TWO DEATHS ATTRIBUTED TO ICE RINK COOLING TOWER
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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

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3. FIVE CASES IN THE UK
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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

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4. SCOTTISH MAN DIES FROM LEGIONNAIRES' DISEASE AFTER 13-DAY COACH TOUR
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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

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5. FIVE CASES AND THREE DEATHS AMONG RESIDENTS OF LONG ISLAND SENIOR CENTERS
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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

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6. TWO PAPER MILL EMPLOYEES CONTRACT LD
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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

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7. TRAVEL-ASSOCIATED LD IN ITALY, SPAIN AND FRANCE, JULY 2002 - JUNE 2006
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Over 50% of the cases of travel-associated Legionnaires’ disease reported to the European Working Group for Legionella Infections (EWGLI) in the last several years have been among travelers to France, Italy, and Spain. From July 1, 2002 to June 30, 2006, 2,101 accommodation sites--approximately 1743 hotels, 210 campgrounds, and 147 ships--were associated with travel-associated Legionnaires’ disease in these three countries. In all, 641 cases were reported to EWGLI. Water testing was conducted at 99% of the sites; Legionella was found at 62% of them. The full report is available from Eurosurveillance Monthly at http://www.eurosurveillance.org/em/v12n11/1211-222.asp.

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8. LEGIONNAIRES’ DISEASE IN EUROPE, 2005-2006
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A total of 11,980 cases of Legionnaires' disease were reported by 35 European countries for 2005 and 2006, an increase from earlier years. The full report, in the December issue of Eurosurveillance Monthly (http://www.eurosurveillance.org/em/v12n12/1212-224.asp), outlines the incidence per age group and country and gives a breakdown of nosocomial, community-acquired, and travel-related cases. To reduce the incidence of Legionnaires' disease, EWGLI is urging close international collaboration (see the November issue of Eurosurveillance Monthly, http://www.eurosurveillance.org/em/v12n11/1211-221.asp).

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9. PITTSBURGH GROUP CITES STUDY IN CALLING FOR LEGIONELLA TESTING
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See http://www.upmc.com/Communications/MediaRelations/Research/Articles/YuLegionnaires.htm

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