Beam me to Planet Gore !
Posted on 09/15/2008 8:25:47 PM PDT by Coleus
Bacteria testing not mandated at elder housing
When she talks about her father - a World War II veteran known for his charm and humble way - Paula Alston usually starts to cry. Four years ago, Alston's father, then 81, died from pneumonia caused in part by Legionnaires' disease, an infection spread by inhaling contaminated water particles. Richard Guthrie Jr. contracted the disease while living at the Nathan Barnert Homes on Keen Street in Paterson, according to county health officials. The outbreak sickened at least one other resident of the public housing facility.
The elderly and those with compromised immune systems are especially vulnerable to Legionella, a bacterium that can cause a disease resembling severe pneumonia. To this day, many residents of Nathan Barnert Homes spend their limited incomes on bottled water. "I got scared," said Gloria Hunter, 75, a resident of the senior complex for more than a decade, who buys her water. "(The tap water) looks all cloudy."
Legionnaires' disease acquired its name in 1976 when 220 people fell ill during an American Legion convention in Philadelphia. Legionella bacteria thrive in warm water and often propagate in rooftop water towers, pipes or air conditioners. Legionnaires' disease is contracted by inhaling water droplets contaminated with the bacteria.
Legionnaires' disease is rare, but cases are increasing. Last year, the state recorded 116 incidents in New Jersey, a jump of 18 percent from 2004. If Legionella is detected early, antibiotics can reduce the chance of long-term harm to those exposed, said Matthew Freije, an environmental consultant in California who specializes in Legionella.
Five Passaic County residents were infected last year. The cases were isolated incidents, not outbreaks that infected more than one person in a building. None of those who took ill died, said Marilyn Riley, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Health and Senior Services. No cases have been reported in the county this year, Riley said, but she cautioned that the peak season for Legionnaires' disease does not end until late fall.
The federal government does not require building owners to regularly test for Legionella, and many local nursing homes, municipalities and water suppliers do not check for it. But cases of the disease are on the rise, particularly because of global warming, epidemiologists say.
Global warming could cause an increase in Legionnaires' disease cases because of water exposed to longer periods of warm temperatures, according to a widely published report by two British epidemiologists. Additionally, scientists believe cases will increase as the population ages, as seniors are more susceptible to the infection.
A Paterson resident for decades, Guthrie moved into the Nathan Barnert Homes in 2003. That year, he began wheezing and was admitted to Barnert Hospital twice, Alston said. Around July 2, 2004, he returned to the hospital after experiencing breathing problems. Guthrie died a week later.
The next day, a county health official informed Alston that Guthrie had contracted Legionnaires' disease. Doctors alerted health officials about Legionella at the senior complex when a 76-year-old resident tested positive for the disease at Barnert Hospital, according to Steven Clark, a hospital spokesman. Two individuals tested positive for the disease - the woman was treated at the hospital and released, while Guthrie died, Clark said.
The city shut off water in the 96-unit senior complex and flushed its pipes with chlorine. County health officials screened the 117 residents for the disease. "We didn't drink the water for a week," said James Jonathan, 68, a Barnert Homes resident for eight years. Jonathan said he also developed pneumonia and was treated at Barnert Hospital, but didn't test positive for Legionnaires' disease. The city drained the water towers at Barnert Homes and tested for the bacteria at least seven times in the year following the outbreak, said Irma Gorham, executive director of the Paterson Housing Authority. The results were negative, Gorham said. The testing and sanitizing of pipes cost $160,000, according to Dale Jones, the authority's finance administrator.
Some other local facilities have taken preventative measures against the spread of Legionella. For the past five years, St. Mary's Hospital has tested its water towers for Legionella bacteria as a precautionary measure, said Erik Ramos, a hospital spokesman. Samples are sent to a lab. Ramos said none of the tests have come back positive. David Hoffman said his cleaning company, DFH Environmental in Paterson, usually gets one call a year to sanitize a building after a case of Legionella has been discovered. Administrators at nursing homes in Clifton and Passaic said they do not specifically test their water supply for Legionella.
"Legionnaires' is a specific disease," said Caren Speizer, an administrator for the Daughters of Miriam Center in Clifton. "Unless there's an incident of it, there's no way we would test for a specific disease like that." The Passaic Valley Water Commission, which monitors the local water supply, is not certified to test for Legionella, said Ivette Mendez, a spokeswoman. An investigator with the county Health Department inspects boilers in public buildings, but not water storage devices, said Kahn, the epidemiologist. State and local authorities rarely require buildings to take preventative measures against Legionella because the federal government does not mandate it, said Freije, the environmental consultant. Maryland and New York do more than most states in encouraging hospitals and nursing homes to test for the bacteria, he said.
"There is no clear standard," Freije said. "But the testing needs to be done." Once a year, the Paterson Housing Authority flushes the pipes in its six senior complexes with boiling water. No outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease have occurred there since, said Dr. Mahmood Kahn, Passaic County epidemiologist. Although Guthrie contracted Legionnaires' disease at Barnert Homes, Gorham said it's not clear that he died of it, because of his age and other health problems.
Alston sued the Paterson Housing Authority and its insurance company after the death of her father. In April, she settled her lawsuit. The settlement did not officially acknowledge wrongdoing - a standard practice in wrongful death settlements - but did provide compensation to Alston, said Richard Mazawey, her Clifton-based attorney. Alston received $7,000, after legal fees. "I think they should have closed that building," said Alston, 50, a photo of her father hanging nearby in her Paterson home. "This is a senior citizen facility. These are people who need water as pure as possible."
and the proof? what report, who wrote it? peer reviewed? nah, this reporter doesn't have an agenda.
So global cooling should cure Legionnaires’ disease. Glad to know we are all safe.
I’ve got to admit, it’s nice seeing “global warming” taking some of the heat off “Bush.” I imagine President Bush is getting a little tired of being blamed for EVERYTHING.
Ok....I actually had Legionnaires’ disease 17 years ago. I got it and was sick the whole months of Jan and Feb. I don’t think there was much ‘global warming’ up here in NE Wisconsin in the middle of winter. They never found out where it came from, but it was a very nasty thing to have.
Would have died in 2 days if they hadn’t figured out what exactly I had. Took a month to name it and a month to recover from it.
Global warming had nothing to do with it.
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thanks, bfl
Add it to the list.
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