New York City health officials say seven people with legionnaires’ disease have died amid an outbreak that has sickened dozens more.
Health officials presented updated figures on Monday at a public town hall meeting. They said there have been more than 80 reported diagnoses. Of the 64 people hospitalized with the disease, 28 have been discharged.
New York City health officials say seven people with legionnaires’ disease have died amid an outbreak that has sickened dozens more.
Health officials presented updated figures on Monday at a public town hall meeting. They said there have been more than 80 reported diagnoses. Of the 64 people hospitalized with the disease, 28 have been discharged.
Scottish Crown Office says it has proved impossible to identify source of the bacterial outbreak in 2012, which killed four people
Prosecutors have decided against bringing any criminal charges over the deaths of four people in a legionnaires’ disease outbreak in west Edinburgh three years ago.
The Crown Office, Scotland’s prosecution authority, said it had proved impossible to identify the source of the bacterial outbreak, leaving it with insufficient evidence to take a person or company to court.
Scottish Crown Office says it has proved impossible to identify source of the bacterial outbreak in 2012, which killed four people
Prosecutors have decided against bringing any criminal charges over the deaths of four people in a legionnaires’ disease outbreak in west Edinburgh three years ago.
The Crown Office, Scotland’s prosecution authority, said it had proved impossible to identify the source of the bacterial outbreak, leaving it with insufficient evidence to take a person or company to court.
Around 300 people now thought to be at risk of infection after using the facility
A 69-year-old Dutchman died of Legionnaires’ disease after visiting a spa in the Netherlands, local media reported on Friday.
As many as 300 people visited the spa in the northern Dutch town of Avenhorn and were at risk of infection, broadcaster RTV Noord-Holland reported, citing local health authorities. No new infections had been discovered since Wednesday, when the man was found to be infected with the bacteria, the report said. Local health officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
Around 300 people now thought to be at risk of infection after using the facility
A 69-year-old Dutchman died of Legionnaires disease after visiting a spa in the Netherlands, local media reported on Friday.
As many as 300 people visited the spa in the northern Dutch town of Avenhorn and were at risk of infection, broadcaster RTV Noord-Holland reported, citing local health authorities. No new infections had been discovered since Wednesday, when the man was found to be infected with the bacteria, the report said. Local health officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
NHS and Public Health England ban certain types of heated pool and question suppliers over safety precautions
Hired home-birthing pools across the country have been recalled and hire companies put under scrutiny after a baby born using one of the heated pools developed legionnaires’ disease.
The NHS and Public Health England (PHE) have banned certain types of home-birthing pools until further notice, after the child who remains in hospital with severe pneumonia became unwell.
Public Health England and NHS warn of hazard as newborn needs intensive care after birth in pool infected with bacteria
Expectant mothers have been warned not to use certain types of heated birthing pools at home after a baby born in one acquired legionnaires’ disease.
Public Health England and NHS England issued the warning for pools which have built-in heaters and recirculation pumps and can be filled with water two weeks in advance of the birth.
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Basildon hospital admitted failing to protect patients and visitors after two people died after contracting legionnaires’ disease
A hospital trust has been ordered to pay fines and costs of £350,000 for failing to ensure the safety of its patients.
Basildon hospital admitted failing to protect patients and visitors between 2006 and 2007 after James Compton, 74, and Raymond Cackett, 54, died after contracting legionnaires’ disease. Six others were also infected by chronic Legionella.
Bosses also pleaded guilty to a similar count after a patient, who was on the hospital’s elderly ward, was injured after falling five metres from an unrestricted window.
Sentencing at Chelmsford crown court, the judge David Turner said: “These are failures of very different kinds but each is in its own way serious.”
He ordered the Essex hospital – one of 14 named in a report into abnormally high death rates by the NHS medical director, Sir Bruce Keogh – to pay a fine of £100,000 for the legionnaires’ offence and £75,000 for the fall.
The trust must also pay the prosecution’s legal costs of £175,000.
The judge said: “The very phrase legionnaires’ disease is enough to strike a chord of concern for any of us staying in hospital anywhere in this country or who have elderly relatives staying in hospital.
“Managing and controlling these bacteria is a huge, costly and complicated challenge for hospitals everywhere.
“Their failure was not of ignorance, lack of concern or reckless disregard for safety.
“The extent of their shortcomings need to be seen against the complexity of the challenge they faced and the number of people through their doors.”
Compton, from Billericay, died in 2007 and Cackett, 54, from South Ockendon, died in 2010 after contracting the disease at the hospital.
Six other patients – Egbert Van Nuil, Lyn Kilshaw, Roy Leech, Joyce Limbert, Francis Nutt and Verona Hughes – were infected. The court heard some of them nearly died from the disease.
Opening the case, prosecutor Pascal Bates said the hospital had been battling the disease – a serious lung infection caused by Legionella bacteria that is common in water systems – for up to 15 years.
But despite a previous prosecution following the death in 2002 of George Bate, 77, from legionnaires’ disease, managers took insufficient steps to protect the public, the court heard.
Shower heads and thermostatic valves were not properly cleaned, the budget to chemically kill the bacteria was cut and attempts to tackle the disease by “super heating” hot pipes may have backfired by warming cold pipes, causing the bacteria to proliferate.
Bates said: “This wasn’t a situation where for a brief period of time the hospital followed advice from a particular consultant, which later turned out to be wrong.
“This was a lengthy period of time during which the hospital fell short of its responsibilities and failed its patients.”
Iain Daniels, mitigating, said the trust apologised for the deaths and for the injuries suffered by the elderly woman. He said lessons had been learned and steps taken to protect patients in future.
Speaking afterwards, Susan Matthews, a Health and Safety Executive inspector, said: “Healthcare providers, like all organisations, have a legal duty to control risks by properly maintaining hot and cold water systems.
“The trust received numerous warnings from regulators and consultants brought in to give the hospital advice and support, but these were not fully heeded.”
Andrea Gordon, director of operations (regions) of the Care Quality Commission, said Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s failures were not acceptable but progress had been made.
“We will continue to monitor the trust, including further unannounced inspections, and will not hesitate to take action where we find standards have fallen short of what people should be able to expect,” she said.
Outside court, Basildon hospital’s chief executive, Clare Panniker, apologised to the relatives of those who suffered.
She said: “We need to ensure our patients are cared for in a safe environment where they do not come to any harm.
“Tackling and managing known risks to hospital environments such as Legionella is part of this and I am confident, as are our health partners and the Health and Safety Executive, that we are doing this.
“We continue to invest significantly in upgrading and managing our water systems to minimise the risks of any patients contracting legionnaires’ disease in the future.”