marshall County Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak Reaches 30 Cases,Source Remains Undetermined
Marshall โฃCounty,Iowaโฃ -โ Health officials are investigating an outbreak of Legionnaires’โข disease,with the number ofโค confirmedโค cases rising to 30 as of โ [date of article publication – inferred from context].Despite extensive โคtesting, the source of the outbreakโข remains elusive, prompting concernsโข and ongoing efforts to identify the origin.
Legionnaires’ โขdiseaseโค is aโ severe โฃform โฃof pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria. It is indeed contracted byโค inhaling microscopic water droplets containing the bacteria, notโข by โฃdrinkingโข the water.Symptoms include headache,fever,and muscle aches,andโข typically appear โtwo to โฃten days after infection. Theโ disease is not contagious from personโ toโ person.
Investigations have so far ruled out the Marshalltown water treatment facilityโข as the โคsource, according to director Zach Maxfield. However, officials emphasize โthat while city water treatmentโ systems โtypically kill the bacteria, it can continue โขto grow in areasโ furtherโฃ down the โdistribution system, such as cooling towers โand individual service lines.โค
“Even in theโข best managed systems, it โคhappens,” said โProctor.”It’s kind of a โฃnatural thingโฆ It’s bound to grow there.”
The bacteria’s location can be unpredictable. โค”we canโ be in investigating systems and, andโ one building in the โsystem hasโ a legionnaires’ problem, โคand the next-door building does not โฆ or one floor ofโค a hospital has a problem and โthe next floor does not,” Proctor explained.โ
findingโข the โsource is elaborate by the fact โฃthat identifying a growth of โthe โbacteria doesn’t automatically pinpoint โtheโฃ origin of the illness; the โคbacteria may have originated further upstream. Authorities are also considering โขpotential sources beyond water contamination, includingโ large โขair-conditioning systems โคand open bodies of water.
Health โฃofficialsโฃ recommend running hot water for 30 seconds before showering and โฃincreasingโฃ hot โฃwaterโฃ heater temperatures to โ140 degrees Fahrenheit to limit exposure. โขIndividuals experiencingโ symptoms areโ urged โtoโ seek medical attention.
