Disease-causing bacteria found in hospital water
Hospital Safety Connection, July 28, 2004
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Tests of water from Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center in South Bend, IN, revealed traces of the bacteria that cause Legionnaires' disease this week, the Associated Press reports.
Health officials say that an illness outbreak is unlikely. The Legionella bacteria is a fatal respiratory illness.
Officials discovered the Legionella bacteria in the system that supplies water for sinks and showers in the hospital, According to Tim Ringer, the hospital's safety officer.
The bacteria likely won't result in illness since it wasn't found in the hospital's heating and cooling systems, said Shawn Richards, a respiratory epidemiologist at Indiana State Department of Health.
Hospital officials are heating the water supply and flushing the system to kill the bacteria.
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