The hospital did not disclose the patient’s identity, but said the individual is in satisfactory condition and responding positively to treatment as of May 23.
UW Medical Center is working with local and state health officials to investigate the source of the infection. While the hospital believes it is an isolated case, staff informed other patients and family members on the cancer unit about the Legionnaires’ case and are testing patients for signs of the illness. UW Medical Center also closed down two rooms where the infected patient received care.
The new infection follows a string of Legionnaires’ cases confirmed at the hospital over the past few years. In 2016, a Legionnaires’ outbreak infected five patients treated in UW Medical Center’s Cascade Tower, and two patients died. A year later, two patients contracted the illness while staying in the same patient tower. One of the patients, who had multiple comorbidities, died.
Legionnaires’ is not spread via person-to-person contact or by drinking water, but can be contracted by inhaling mist from contaminated water sources, such as cooling misters and plumbing systems.
Brian Zimmerman contributed to this report.
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