Overlake is located about eight miles from University of Washington Medical Center, which is dealing with its own Legionnaires’ disease outbreak, in which five patients have been infected, and two of them have died.
However, Public Health-Seattle & King County say “there is no evidence to suggest any link between the Legionella case at Overlake and the recent Legionella cases at the University of Washington Medical Center” at this time.
Overlake is working with public health officials on an investigation to find a potential source for the infection and to determine if any other patients are also infected. As of Monday, no other cases had been found.
Legionella bacteria can cause Legionnaires’ disease, a potentially deadly form of pneumonia. They live naturally in water but can cause illness when aspirated by people with weakened immune systems.
The CDC offers a toolkit for hospitals to develop a Legionella water management program. Find that resource here.
More articles on Legionnaires’ disease:
5 Legionnaires’ cases linked to Memphis hotel
One dead in Minnesota Legionnaires’ outbreak as cases increase to 14
3 OR machines at UW Medical Center test positive for Legionella
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