Through the Legionella Looking Glass – Part 2: A Look at Current Practices and State of the Science

In the April issue of the Healthy Indoors, Dr. J. David Krause, a senior toxicologist and Associate of a Florida-based health sciences firm, discusses complex public health issues involving Legionnaires’ disease.  Topics in his thorough and well-thought article include:

• Difficulties with tracking Legionnaires’ disease outbreaks
• Limits of public health agencies such as local and state health departments and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Efficacy and accuracy of testing methods for the different strains of Legionella bacteria which cause Legionnaires’ disease
• Legionnaires’ disease as an under diagnosed and under reported illness
• Relying on surveillance is difficult when the disease is under reported and under diagnosed.  Also, current practices do not always include water system testing or treatment for some facilities.
• Difficulties for public health organizations to take a global approach to control, investigation, and prevention of Legionnaires’ disease.

Currently, there are many inconsistencies regarding Legionella.  For example, “municipal water systems have specific bacterial testing requirements, but Legionella is not among them.  The non-regulatory ‘maximum contaminant level goal’ (MCLG) established by the US EPA for Legionella is zero, but testing for Legionella by municipal water suppliers and achieving this goal is not required.”

This is especially troubling considering a study that was recently published in Environmental Science & Technology, which reported that Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 (LP1) was found in “nearly half of cold water tap samples taken from 68 different water supplies across the United States.”

To read Dr. Krause’s full article, please click here.

4th Legionnaires’ disease case now associated with outbreak at senior home in Florida

A fourth case of Legionnaires’ disease has been confirmed at Camellia at Deerwood, home for the elderly in Jacksonville, Fla.

Department of Health spokesman Charles Griggs said that two residents developed pneumonia associated with Legionella bacteria in March and April.  This observation caused the Department of Health to investigate further and they discovered that there was a related case in November 2013.  Another case this month was confirmed while the investigation was still ongoing.

Perry Brown, facility manager at Camellia, did not say whether any additional residents have become ill since the public health advisory was released by the Duval County Health Department on April 21, but he did say “we are working directly with the Health Department to keep our residents safe.”

To read more about this story, please click here.

New Legionnaires' disease cases at Jules Zacher, PC

Jules Zacher was recently retained to represent one of the victims of the Legionnaires' disease outbreak at IU Health University Hospital in Indianapolis, IN.   He was also retained for three cases involving the outbreak at the Integrated Health Campus in Allentown, PA that sickened at least 8 patients or visitors of the health facility.

Jules Zacher is an attorney at law who has been practicing for over 35 years.  He is known across the country for his experience with Legionnaires’ disease cases and has been recommended numerous times by both clients and other attorneys.

He has had success representing victims of Legionnaires’ disease in federal and state courts across the country and is currently working on numerous cases in Hawaii, California, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York.

Legionnaires’ disease lawsuits at VA Pittsburgh hospitals settled

Families of VA Pittsburgh patients who had contracted Legionnaires’ disease are relieved that a settlement has been reached in the lawsuit against the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System.  They remain frustrated, however, that VA personnel will not be held accountable for the outbreak which included at least 22 illnesses and 6 deaths.

“I’m relieved it’s over, but it’s not nearly what they deserved,” said Debbie Balawejder whose father was 85-year-old Frank “Sonny” Calcagno, who died Nov. 22, 2011 due to Legionnaires’ disease.

“To me, what they did was criminal,” Balawejder continued.  “They’re never going to pay the way they should for what they did.”

U.S. Rep. Keith Rothfus agreed that “these settlements have nothing to do with holding the individuals responsible for [the veterans’] deaths accountable.”

Rep Rothfus also said that there are still “questions that the VA must answer.”

Multiple other members of congress have been involved in this Veterans Affairs situation, including Reps. Tom Murphy and Mike Doyle, and Senators Bob Casey and Pat Toomey.

To read more about this story, please click here.

Legionnaire’s limits water use at IU Health hospitals

Shari Rudavsky at the Indianapolis Star, a news source in Indianapolis, Indiana, reached out us recently to discuss Legionnaires' disease.  Please see below for the article.

Legionnaires' limits water use at IU Health hospitals

Patients at IU Health’s University Hospital and Simon Cancer Center have been told to drink bottled water and not bathe or shower with tap water after two patients at the Downtown hospital tested positive for Legionnaire’s disease.

The restrictions came after additional samples of water tested positive for Legionella bacteria, the germ that causes the potentially deadly illness.

IU Health officials went room to room late Thursday explaining the decision to limit water consumption for patients, many of whom have compromised immune systems and are susceptible to the disease.

“We felt that it was a precautionary move that we should make,” said Dr. Douglas Webb, medical director for infection control of Indiana University Health.

IU Health continues to investigate how water at University Hospital became infected. Legionella bacteria resides in water and is often contracted through aerosol spray, such as a shower, air conditioner or fountain.

The restrictions will stay in place until tests “verify that the water has been adequately treated and is safe to use,” Webb said.

Earlier this week, IU Health officials announced that two patients, both with compromised immune systems, had tested positive within the past month for Legionnaire’s disease and had died. Webb declined to give specific dates for the deaths.

To continue reading, please click here.

The American Legion’s System Worth Saving Task Force has issued a report following a series of interviews conducted during an investigation of the Pittsburgh VA Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in 2011 and 2012.

According to Jacob Gadd, Deputy Director for Health Care at the American Legion in Washington D.C., one of the main issues was with the Veterans Administration central offices not allowing local facilities to respond to a crisis; this, in turn, lowered veterans’ confidence in the medical center.

Gadd also says that the VA Medical Center is much safer now and exceeds CDC recommendations for infection prevention.

To learn more about the American Legion recommendations, please click on the link below to listen to the NPR Pittsburgh interview with Jacob Gadd, Deputy Director for Health Care at the American Legion.

http://wesa.fm/post/american-legion-recommends-prevention-plan-legionella-outbreaks 

Jules Zacher has been retained for three new Legionnaires' disease cases

Jules Zacher, Esq. has been retained for three new Legionnaires’ disease cases.

All three cases come from different parts of the country.  Two cases involve patients who died as a result of the illness; one was from Maine and the other was associated with the Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in Allentown, PA.  The third case involves a person who contracted the illness while in Hawaii with family; the firm is investigating a potential outbreak at a hotel on Kauai, Hawaii.

Jules Zacher is an attorney at law who has been practicing for over 35 years.  He is known across the country for his experience with Legionnaires’ disease cases and has been referred by both clients and other attorneys.

He has had success representing victims of Legionnaires’ disease and trying cases in federal and state courts.  Mr. Zacher is currently working on numerous cases across the country in Hawaii, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Maine.