New York - Legionella bacteria suspected in water supply at Syracuse hospital

[Pathfinder]

Legionella bacteria suspected in water supply at Syracuse hospital
...
By Ken Sturtz | ksturtz@syracuse.com
on October 24, 2015 at 12:52 PM, updated October 24, 2015 at 5:30 PM

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Health officials are investigating the possibility that the legionella bacteria may be present in the water supply at St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center.

Dr. Sandra Sulik, vice president for medical affairs, said the hospital received test results Friday afternoon that identified potential legionella bacteria in some samples taken from the hospital's water supply. The results are preliminary and it could take more time to confirm the finding.

"We will not know for sure until final culture test results return in several days," Sulik said. "However, we are taking this very seriously."
...
No hospital staff or doctors appear to have been affected, Sulik said, though there is one case of legionella at the hospital. She said that patient is believed to have been exposed outside the hospital.
...
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index....und_in_water_supply_at_syracuse_hospital.html

 

[Pathfinder]

Secrecy, confusion surround Legionnaires' outbreak at Syracuse hospital

by James T. Mulder |

on October 28, 2015 at 9:10 AM

...
The hospital issued news releases Saturday and Monday announcing steps it is taking to protect patients after preliminary tests found Legionella bacteria in its water system...

But it wasn't until Monday that a top hospital official, when questioned by syracuse.com, revealed at least two patients caught Legionnaires' in the hospital within the last month and that those cases prompted the additional water testing and the water use restrictions.

That official, Dr. Sandra Sulik, a hospital vice president, also said St. Joe's had a third case of Legionnaires' during the last month, but was unable to determine if the patient got the disease in the community or caught it in the hospital. That patient died and she said it was unclear if the death was caused by Legionnaires' or the patient's other serious medical problems.

St. Joe's did not explain why there was no mention of the hospital-acquired Legionnaires' cases in its announcements. "We provided information about hospital-acquired Legionella every time we were asked," Betsy Bedigian, a hospital spokeswoman, said in an email.

She also denied the hospital had a Legionnaires' outbreak. But the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Legionnaires' outbreaks occur when two or more people, such as hospital patients, become ill in the same place at about the same time.
...
http://www.syracuse.com/health/index.ssf/2015/10/no_answers.html

 

[Pathfinder]

Faucets at Syracuse hospital may be culprit in Legionnaires' outbreak

on November 03, 2015 at 3:24 PM, updated November 03, 2015 at 5:13 PM

Syracuse, N.Y. -- A type of faucet designed to reduce water use appears to be one of the culprits in an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease at St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center.

The hospital announced today that testing confirmed the presence of Legionella bacteria, the bug that causes Legionnaires', in two patient sinks and an ice machine in its new $63 million 110-room patient tower that opened last year.

The sinks and ice machine were in an area where three patients diagnosed with Legionnaires' in the past month had been during their hospital stays. Two of those patients caught Legionnaires', a severe form of pneumonia, in the hospital. It's unclear if the other patient, who died, caught Legionnaires' in the hospital or the community.

A fourth patient diagnosed with Legionnaires' in March also caught the disease in the hospital. That patient died of other causes.
...
http://www.syracuse.com/health/index.ssf/2015/11/patients_scared.html