Hospital Patients Infected

Aug. 3–A University Hospital official said this morning he believes two patients contracted Legionella pneumonia, also called Legionnaires’ disease, while at the hospital.

Legionella, a potentially fatal respiratory illness, is spread through a bacterium called Legionella pneumophila, a common organism found in soil and water.

The organism typically is spread through warm water vapor, from sources such as hot tubs and showers. It also can be spread through cooling towers.

Hospital officials do not believe the university’s cooling towers, which are routinely treated to kill such organisms, spread the Legionella bacterium.

But showers are a possibility, said Michael Cooperstock, medical director for infection control at the hospital, which is operated by the University of Missouri-Columbia.

The hospital’s initial response has included installing showerhead filters and collecting environmental cultures.

Legionella is contracted by breathing in the organism and is not transferred from person to person through the air.

Both patients — one of whom has been released from the hospital — tested positive for the organism in preliminary tests. Samples have been sent to the Missouri Department of Health and Human Services for a final diagnosis.

If confirmed, they would be the 13th and 14th cases confirmed so far this year in Missouri.

A spokeswoman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which was notified about the Columbia cases, said about 8,000 to 18,000 people are believed to contract the illness every year.

Eddie Hedrick, emerging infections coordinator for the state health department, said that so far this year, there have been six cases reported in the northwest part of the state, four in eastern Missouri and two in the southwest.

Hedrick said the health department won’t launch its own investigation at this point.

“If anything leads us to believe there’s problem, we will do that,” he said. “Right now, we’re working with the hospital.”

Many people who are infected with the organism will not get sick, he said. In general, people who already have weakened immune systems are vulnerable.

Smokers are three times as likely to be affected, Hedrick said.

Infection of the organism can lead to two illnesses — full-blown pneumonia and a milder form called Pontiac fever. The illness is treated with antibiotics.

Linda Johnson, infection control coordinator at University Hospital, said symptoms of Legionella pneumonia include reduced white blood cell count and pneumonia-like symptoms.

Cooperstock said it’s unclear whether the actual source of the outbreak will be determined.

“Sometimes we find a source,” he said, “but more often, we do not.”

Legionella takes its name from its first known outbreak in 1976, when people attending an American Legion convention in Philadelphia came down with the illness.

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