SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- “There is Legionella from a culture growing from one of the cooling towers at Community General Hospital,” said Dr. Cynthia Morrow, Onondaga County Health Commissioner.
Ever since the medical investigation began, the focus has been on the campus of the hospital. Now, it appears likely that a cooling tower was the source. The connection between Community General Hospital and the outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease should not come as any shock. Nationwide, about 25 percent of all cases involving Legionella originate in health care facilities.
But, in many of those cases, the contamination involves a water distribution system within the hospital and those affected are patients. In this case, the contamination was limited to areas outside the hospital building.
Onondaga County health officials continue to deal with an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease, a form of pneumonia. There are 10 confirmed cases so far, and no deaths. News 10 Now's Bill Carey says health officials are not sure yet, but think they may have figured out the source of the illness.
“These are individuals that have been out in the community or, perhaps, on the Community General campus. It does not mean that they've been in the hospital itself,” Morrow said.
The illness took its name from an American Legion convention back in the 1970s where an air conditioning system in a hotel spread the disease to dozens of those in attendance. But, it wasn't until the 1980s, after a deadly outbreak at a Los Angeles VA Hospital that the bacteria was identified and research begun into how to control it.
The villain is always water. At least two health departments, the state of Maryland and Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, require rigorous testing and preventative measures to keep outbreaks from occurring.
In most cases the CDC and other health agencies tends to do testing and take action only after the illness is reported.
Local officials say there are some proactive steps taken, though.
“In Onondaga County, all hospitals do have an aggressive monitoring program in place,” Morrow said.
Monitoring that didn't work here.
“Right, right. But that doesn't necessarily mean it's a failure of the monitoring system. We need to find out what happened,” said Morrow.
The investigation of the outbreak will continue.
Community General Hospital said it has taken steps to disinfect and sanitize both its cooling towers and water distribution system. The health department said it believes the current outbreak is near an end.