Legionella bacteria, magnified 8,000 times in this image, found in a cooling tower behind the RiverWalk Resort in Lincoln, NH, are linked to five cases of Legionnaires’ disease in June and July, according to the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. File photo by Janice Haney Carr/CDC
Aug. 13 (UPI) – New Hampshire residents and visitors to a Lincoln resort are being urged to watch for symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease after five people became ill with the bacterial pneumonia in June and July.
The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services on Monday linked the outbreak to contaminated water droplets from a cooling tower behind the RiverWalk Resort.
“Anyone who has visited the area near the contaminated cooling tower should be alert for symptoms,” said Dr. Benjamin Chan, New Hampshire State Epidemiologist.
“People who develop a fever or other symptoms of pneumonia within about 14 days of being in this area should talk to their doctor about being tested for Legionella infection,” Chan added.
Legionnaires’ disease is a severe pneumonia caused by inhaling water droplets contaminated with Legionella bacteria, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Legionella is a naturally occurring environmental bacteria that grows in water systems and can infect people who inhale contaminated water droplets from showers, hot tubs, faucets, cooling towers, misters and ornamental fountains,” the DHHS said in a statement.
Typical symptoms include cough, fever, headache, muscle aches, shortness of breath, confusion and nausea.
According to the CDC, most healthy people do not become ill when exposed to Legionella. Those who do become ill require antibiotic treatment to recover. About 10% of those infected are at risk of death from complications, which may include respiratory failure.
Older adults, smokers, and people with weakened immune systems, chronic lung disease, and diabetes are at higher risk of developing Legionnaires’ disease, which is not transmitted from person to person.
Additional test results for the cooling tower are expected next week as RiverWalk works with DHHS to clean up the contamination.
The DHHS said the cooling tower would remain in operation during the cleanup work and warned that there was still a risk of infection to the public, “particularly those within a half-mile radius of the cooling tower site.”
Radius around the cooling tower in Lincoln, NH, where Legionella bacteria could infect the public. Image courtesy of New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services
