Penn Medicine’s Lancaster (Pa.) General Hospital and Lancaster Nursing & Rehabilitation Center have reported two cases of Legionnaires’ disease, LancasterOnline reported March 27.
The hospital treated a patient with Legionnaires’ in early February, and the individual has since been discharged, Nitin Patel, MD, medical director of infection prevention and chair of antimicrobial stewardship at the hospital, told the news outlet.
The 446-bed nursing home confirmed the second case in early March when a resident tested positive through a urine antigen test, Laura Clouser, nursing home administrator, said in an email to the outlet.
“This case was isolated to a single resident,” Ms. Clouser said. “The resident had recently received care outside of the facility prior to the positive test result. Based on the timing and clinical review, the source of exposure cannot be definitively determined; however, there is no evidence to suggest transmission within the facility. Since the initial result, which occurred more than two weeks ago, there have been no additional symptoms or confirmed cases identified within the facility.”
The state health department and environmental protection department and the city’s bureau of water are working with the health facilities to investigate, according to the report.
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