An environmental sample taken from the Outpatient Medical Pavilion of Indiana University’s Health Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie, Indiana has proven positive for the potentially dangerous Legionella pneumonia bacteria.
In a statement released to The Star Press, the hospital’s Chief Medical Officer, Jeff Bird, has described how approximately 175 water samples were sent for testing following the diagnosis of a hospital patient with Legionnaires’ disease in mid-April. After this diagnosis, the hospital immediately shut down its water system while waiting for environmental sampling and testing results.
Since no significant amounts of Legionella were subsequently found in the inpatient sections of the hospital (North Tower, South Tower, and East and West wings), normal water usage in these areas has been reestablished.
Water restrictions in the affected outpatient facility, however, will remain in place until a new round of testing has been completed (a 10- to 14-day process). During this time, showers are off-limits and bottled water will be provided. This unit houses the emergency department, physicians’ offices, and the Ball Outpatient Surgery Center. According to Bird, “The Outpatient Medical Pavilion was also tested, because it is on a separate water source … And we did get one positive test for a low-level legionella bacteria, so we treated it.” (1)
When Legionella Invades Hospital Systems
Once Legionella pneumonia bacteria proliferates and becomes well-established in hospital water systems, it can be difficult to eradicate. In 2014, two patients at IU Health’s University Hospital and Simon Cancer Center died after contracting Legionnaires’ disease at the facility.
It thus behooves hospital administrators to be vigilant and proactive in testing their water systems to determine if the bacteria has reestablished itself. A small number of state health departments (Pennsylvania, New York, and Maryland) have now recommended that public hospitals implement preventive water testing standards patterned after guidelines established by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). As the New York Department of Health emphasized in its 2005 guidelines:
“Complete eradication of Legionella is not feasible and regrowth will occur. Therefore, long-term control measures must be implemented. Environmental surveillance (collecting water samples or plumbing system swab samples for Legionella analysis) is necessary to ensure that disinfection and long-term control measures are effective.”
When hospitals choose not to perform preventive water sampling for water-borne diseases like Legionnaires’ disease, patients die – Legionnaires’ disease is fatal in up to 50% of immune-compromised people who contract it.
Source:
1. Beebe, Phil. “BMH receives one positive test for Legionella.” The Star Press. Web. 27 Apr. 2016.