Sonoma County health officials said the case is an isolated incident, with no concern of larger outbreak.
An elderly Sebastopol man has died after contracting Legionnaires’ disease, a serious form of pneumonia caused by the Legionella bacteria, Sonoma County health officials said Friday morning.
County Interim Health Officer Karen Smith said the death is being investigated as a “sporadic case,” meaning it is considered an isolated incident, not an outbreak.
Smith said her team is in contact with the family of the man who died but is giving them time to grieve before seeking a more thorough account of the man’s last days. The incubation period for Legionella bacteria can be up to 14 days, she said.
In Sonoma County, there have been three cases of Legionnaires’ pneumonia since the beginning of the year, she said, adding that none of them have been connected.
Smith said Legionella is a very common environmental bacteria often found in “free water“ such as lakes and streams, as well as artificial water reservoirs such as cooling towers in large buildings, air conditioning systems, hot tubs and water heaters.
The bacteria thrives in warm water that’s a little bit stagnant, she said.
“One of the reasons no one tests wastewater for Legionella is because you’re going to find it there,” she said. “It’s a naturally occurring bacteria and the vast majority of people never get Legionella infections.”
Sebastopol Interim City Manager Mary Gourley said the city does not test for the Legionella bacteria but keeps “a residual chlorine level … that is 99% effective against” the bacteria.
Smith said there has to be a lot of the bacteria to cause an infection. But more importantly, she said, the people who tend to get sick from Legionella are older with compromised immune systems.
Legionella spreads when small droplets of water containing the bacteria get into the air and people breathe them in. In very rare cases, someone breathes in Legionella while drinking water. Generally, people do not spread Legionnaires’ disease to other people.
Symptoms of the disease are similar to other types of pneumonia, and include cough, muscle aches, fever, shortness of breath and headache. One in 10 individuals who contract Legionnaires’ disease will die from the infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Smith said that more than 75% of people with Legionella are over 60, and many of them either have conditions like cancer that suppress the immune system or are on medications that suppress the immune system.
Smith declined to discuss the Sebastopol man’s health, saying only that he was “both older and he had a immunosuppressive condition.”
The Sebastopol community is shocked by the death, with businesses and nonprofits mourning the man’s death on social media.
Outbreaks do occur, Smith said, citing one in Napa County that involved multiple cases in 2022. That outbreak, in downtown Napa, killed one person and hospitalized 16 others. It was linked to a cooling tower at an unspecified facility, according to a recent report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The outbreak occurred from July to August 2022. The report linked some of the cases to a cooling tower, a structure that contains water and a fan used to cool buildings. A clogged pipe that led to the chemical feed system at the facility impeded the controller’s ability to detect water flow, resulting in low or no injection of biocide — or disinfectant — into the tower, according to the report.
Cooling towers have been identified as the likely source of a current outbreak in Harlem, New York City, that has resulted in 99 cases and four deaths. New York City officials have identified 12 cooling towers in 10 buildings that have tested positive for the bacteria.
Smith said there is no indication or evidence that this infection is tied to a large community water source.
Amie Windsor is the Community Journalism Team Lead with The Press Democrat. She can be reached at amie.windsor@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5218.
Reach Staff Writer Martin Espinoza at 707-521-5213 or martin.espinoza@pressdemocrat.com.
Source link
