Legionnaires' disease sickens 14 in Vermont

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Legionnaires' disease sickens 14 in Vermont

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Published Wed, Aug 14, 2002

By KRISTA LARSON, Associated Press

WATERBURY, Vt. (AP) - An outbreak of Legionnaires' disease has sickened more

than a dozen people and prompted disinfecting efforts at a state office

complex to fend off the potentially deadly infection.

A total of 16 people have contracted the disease since late last month,

including 14 who spent time in Waterbury. Seven others have a milder form of

the infection.

All but one of the victims were out of the hospital Wednesday. State health

officials said they could not comment on the last patient's condition.

" People are watching this very carefully, " said Anne Noonan, director of the

Vermont State Employees' Association. " We are hopeful that very few people

have been exposed, but we don't know. "

The first case was reported late last month when a former inmate at the

state women's prison, located at the complex, contracted the disease.

More than 1,500 people live and work at the complex, a sprawling campus of

39 buildings where many state agencies are headquartered. The complex, a

former state hospital, has not been closed.

Five of those who were infected are state employees, Health Commissioner Jan

Carney said. Seven others live or spend time in the town of Waterbury, and

two were prison inmates, she said.

Health officials said a sample taken last week from an air conditioning

cooling tower at the complex tested positive for the bacteria that causes

Legionnaires' disease. Two cooling structures at the complex have been

cleaned, as has a third tower at a nearby business.

" We believe cooling towers are the source and we're optimistic that the

public health remedies - the disinfection and cleaning - already taken will

be effective, " she said.

Even if the source has been eliminated, other cases could spring up because

Legionnaire's disease has an incubation period of up to 10 days.

Hall, a state Department of Fish and Wildlife employee, said the health

threat is worrying workers and their families.

" It's one thing to work here and deal with it, " he said. " It's another to be

at home with family members and put their minds at ease that we are doing

the right thing by staying on the job and getting our work done. "

A relatively common bacteria, legionella pneumophila, causes Legionnaire's

disease when it is inhaled through mist from air conditioners, hot water

tanks, whirlpool spas, humidifiers, faucets, shower heads and moist soil.

People who contract the disease can experience flulike symptoms. If left

untreated, the disease proves fatal in 15 to 20 percent of the cases.

The bacteria and the disease it causes got their name in 1976, after the

disease sickened 221 people and killed 34 at an American Legion convention

in Philadelphia.

An outbreak the size of Waterbury's is considered moderately sized, said Dr.

n Flannery, an epidemic intelligence officer with the federal Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention.

Between 8,000 to 18,000 cases are recorded nationally each year, including

about seven in Vermont.