Source: http://www.syracuse.com, October 24, 2015
By: Ken Sturtz
Health officials are investigating the possibility that the legionella bacteria may be present in the water supply at St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center.
Dr. Sandra Sulik, vice president for medical affairs, said the hospital received test results Friday afternoon that identified potential legionella bacteria in some samples taken from the hospital’s water supply. The results are preliminary and it could take more time to confirm the finding.
“We will not know for sure until final culture test results return in several days,” Sulik said. “However, we are taking this very seriously.”
Hospital officials are working with state and county health departments and as a precaution the use of tap water at the hospital has been restricted to hand washing, Sulik said. Bottled water and ice were being delivered throughout the hospital.
Hospital operations have not been affected.
No hospital staff or doctors appear to have been affected, Sulik said, though there is one case of legionella at the hospital. She said that patient is believed to have been exposed outside the hospital.
Sulik said St. Joseph’s frequently gets cases of legionella, but that patients have usually been exposed to the bacteria in the community and not in the hospital.
The current situation relates only to the hospital’s water supply and not its air-handling system. Teams regularly test the water supply to guard against contamination and the hospital uses an ionization system designed to keep our water supply free of legionella.
Though commonly found in the environment, legionella bacteria can cause Legionnaires’ disease or Pontiac fever, collectively known as legionellosis. Legionnaires’ disease is a severe form of pneumonia that can be fatal if left untreated.
The bacteria got its name in 1976 when many people who went to a Philadelphia convention of the American Legion suffered from an outbreak of the disease there that left 34 people dead. That outbreak was traced to the hotel’s water system. Other outbreaks have been linked to whirlpool spas on cruise ships, cooling towers, decorative fountains, swimming pools, physical therapy equipment and water systems in hotels, hospitals and nursing homes.
People become infected by inhaling water droplets that contain the bacteria.
In 2008, health officials dealt with an outbreak of legionella at the 526-bed Van Duyn Home and Hospital.