17 Die of Legionnaire's Disease in Canada
Posted on: Friday, 7 October 2005, 21:00 CDT
By ROB GILLIES
TORONTO - An elderly woman died Friday of an apparent outbreak of Legionnaires' disease at an Ontario nursing home, bringing to 17 the number of people fatally infected by the disease at the facility.
The investigation continued into the source of the outbreak has led health officials to examine water samples and the ventilation system at the Seven Oaks Home for the Aged. Results are not expected for another week.
Dr. David McKeown, the chief medical officer for Public Health Toronto, said there have been no new cases since Tuesday. Latest autopsies have shown Legionnaires' disease, a form of pneumonia, is the likely cause of the outbreak.
In all, 70 residents, 18 employees and nine visitors to Seven Oaks have been affected and 42 have been hospitalized. Most of those affected are improving and some have been discharged from hospital, McKeown said.
The latest victim was an 89-year-old woman, the first death since Wednesday, when six elderly people succumbed.
"It's obviously been a devastating outbreak for the residents and families of Seven Oaks, but there is also an enormous relief to know that this is a problem that really is limited to Seven Oaks and is not an issue for anybody else living in Toronto," said Dr. Allison McGreer, an infectious diseases consultant.
Legionnaires' disease is a type of pneumonia named after a severe outbreak that killed 34 people at a meeting of the American Legion in Philadelphia in 1976. The bacteria is typically found in the environment, usually in water.
Residents and staff at the home have been taking preventive antibiotics.
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On the Net:
CDC site on Legionnaires': http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/legionellosis
Toronto Public Health: http://www.toronto.ca/health
Source: Associated Press/AP Online
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