Legionella bacteria detected in water systems
TUESDAY, June 13, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Cases of Legionnaires’ disease in New York City and Las Vegas are being investigated by health officials.
In New York City, traces of Legionella were detected in the water at a Manhattan police station where an officer diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease works. The officer is recovering, The New York Times reported. Officers can still work in the 23rd Precinct station house on East 102nd Street in East Harlem, but the city Health Department has told them not to take showers there, and to use cold water for drinking and for preparing hot beverages and food until the investigation is complete. Hot water has been shut down at the precinct as a precaution, police officials said.
In Las Vegas, two guests who stayed at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino were diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease. They stayed separately at the resort in March and April, the Southern Nevada Health District said, CNN reported. Legionella was found in the hot-water system of one of the hotel’s towers, said Mark Bergtholdt, the district’s environmental health supervisor. The hotel is disinfecting the system with chlorine, and rooms served by the system will not be occupied until the system is properly flushed, Bergtholdt said.
“Guests who stayed at the Rio more than two weeks ago and have not developed symptoms are not at risk for disease,” the health district said in a statement, CNN reported.
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