Posted on 09/15/2010 6:18:15 PM PDT by decimon
After five years of lying low, Legionnaire's disease - a potentially fatal lung infection - returned to the small city of Alcoi, Spain, on July 21, 2009.
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This microbe lives in fresh water nearly everywhere, and it becomes a problem only when inhaled as a fine spray or aerosol. (Legionella is harmless if you drink it.) Outbreaks are usually traced back to man-made supplies of warm water, such as water cooling systems, fountains, hot tubs, even showers.
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Investigations into Legionella outbreaks are difficult, according to Dr. Lauri Hicks, a medical epidemiologist in the respiratory-diseases branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The bacteria do not spread from person to person, but they are common in fresh water, so potential sources of bacteria are everywhere. Certain strains are more likely than others to cause outbreaks, but they will sicken only about 5 percent of the people exposed to them, Hicks told LiveScience in an e-mail.
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(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
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Ugh. Years ago my DH was thoughtful enough to buy me a book during my recovery from Legionnaire’s. Somehow “The Stand” didn’t turn out to be a good book to read while you are just sure that you are going to smother to death.
I always hold my breath whenever that spritzer thing in the produce departments of grocery stores goes off. You can get the disease from them
I and several other folks got it at a gun show in 2003. I got only a light infection and was cured with ease. But my best friend and many others were not so lucky getting it so bad that hospital stays were required.
I’m glad everyone came out OK. I was sick for weeks but did get to stay at home. The CDC still asked that I come in to have blood drawn instead of dealing through my personal MD. That was miserable.
This microbe lives in fresh water nearly everywhereobviously we need a Legionella czar.
bump & a micro/epidemiology ping
> “I always hold my breath whenever that spritzer thing in the produce departments of grocery stores goes off. You can get the disease from them”
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Once, perhaps, but no longer.
They are sterilized with ultra violet light, in addition to the fact that the water supply maintains a high chlorine residual.
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