Home News Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak Now at 15 People

Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak Now at 15 People

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GROVE CITY – The cases of Legionella has risen to 15 as FCPH continues to investigate the Legionnaires’ Disease outbreak at the Mount Carmel Grove City Hospital.

“As of today there are 15 confirmed cases, said Franklin County Public Heath, “Anyone who was a patient, worked or visited Mount Carmel Grove City should contact their healthcare provider if you have pneumonia-like symptoms.”

“If you do not have symptoms, there is no need to get tested,” said FCPH

Mount Carmel Grove City has implemented the following steps to protect those who have contact with the hospital and to reduce the risk of more infections:

Flushing all hot and cold water lines and fixtures throughout facility
Implementing immediate practices to disinfect hot and cold water lines and fixtures
Testing and cleaning all ice machines
Making sure the on-sight cooling towers are cleaned and serviced
Testing water sources and providing test results to the Ohio Department of Health
Providing their water management plan to the Ohio Department of Health for review
Passing out bottled water to patients and staff
What is Legionnaires’ Disease?
Legionnaires’ Disease is a severe form of pneumonia caused by the Legionella bacterium. Although Legionella can live in fresh water, it’s often associated with large or complex water systems that are usually found in hospitals, nursing homes or hotels. You cannot get Legionnaires’ Disease from another person. You can only get it by breathing in small water droplets that contain Legionella from sources such as hot tubs or showers.

Symptoms include:

Cough
Shortness of breath
Muscle aches
Fever
Headache