A
hospital in Flint, Michigan, reported Friday that low levels of Legionnaires'
disease bacteria were discovered in its water system.
The
discovery came after the city switched its water supply and the medical staff
noticed an increase in people coming in for treatment who were diagnosed with
Legionnaires,' McLaren Hospital said.
Legionnaires'
disease is a respiratory bacterial infection usually spread through mist that
comes from a water source.
McLaren
Hospital said it has taken corrective measures with its water supply.
All
testing shows the hospital water supply "is well within safety and quality
standards," the hospital statement said, and no tests show McLaren was the
source of Legioinnaires' disease.
The
hospital report is the latest negative news about the Flint water supply and the
second piece of news about Legionnaires' disease.
About
two years ago, the state ordered the city to switch its water supply from Lake
Huron to the Flint River as a money-saving measure.
After
high levels of iron and lead were found in the water, authorities realized they
had a crisis on their hands.
Residents
began drinking bottled water and using water filters. The governor apologized
to citizens. The National Guard was called in.
Then
Gov. Rick Snyder announced a spike in the number of cases of Legionnaires'
disease in Genesee County as a whole in the two years since the Flint
water supply switch.
From
June 2014 to November 2015, at least 87 county residents developed
Legionnaires' disease, compared to between six and 13 cases in the four
preceding years, said Nick Lyon, director of the Michigan Department of Health
and Human Services. Ten patients died, he said.
But
Lyon said there's not necessarily a cause-and-effect and that it would be
nearly impossible to say the water switch caused the spike, partly because not
all the people who got Legionnaires' were exposed to Flint water. He said
further testing will be ordered.
The
hospital said it noticed an increase in Legionnaires' cases coming to McLaren,
plus the communitywide increase, after the water supply switch.
The
hospital began "aggressively" testing its water supply and an early
test result indicated the presence of a low level of legionella, the statement
said.
The
hospital said it installed a secondary water disinfectant system throughout the
entire facility at a cost of $300,000 and also installed lead filters on water
and ice machines.
"It
is important to note that no tests have ever determined that McLaren is the
source of exposure for any patients testing positive for the legionella
antigen, and that there is no definitive data to support that McLaren Flint is
the source of exposure for any patient testing positive for the legionella
antigen," the statement said.
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