Chester County Patient Tests Positive For Legionnaire's Disease

A West Chester University employee tested positive to Legionnaire’s disease, according to an email the university sent to its employees on Wednesday.

Eight cooling towers of buildings on the campus have high levels of the bacteria, the email states, including 201 Carter Drive, SOMPAC, FHG Library, Main Hall, Merion Science Center, Schmucker Science Center, Sykes Student Union, and Lawrence Hall.

The university hired a firm to test for the bacteria in buildings across campus once it was confirmed the employee had the legionella bacteria.

Officials said that the Chester County Health Department was informed of the incident. Health officials said that the bacteria spreads and grows in warm water, especially the kind found in:

• Hot tubs
• Cooling towers
• Hot water tanks
• Large plumbing systems
• Decorative fountains

Individuals can contract Legionnaire’s disease when they breathe in mist or water vapor that has been contaminated, according to the health department’s website.

Symptoms include:

• Cough
• Shortness of breath
• High fever
• Muscle aches
• Headaches

Most cases of Legionnaire’s disease can be treated with antibiotics, according to the health department, but infected individuals occasionally need to be hospitalized.

Also known as Pontiac Fever, Legionnaire’s disease takes it’s name from the 1976 Philadelphia convention of the American Legion, where there was an outbreak of the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Somewhere between 8,000 and 18,000 individuals contract the disease every year, per the CDC.

There have been no updates on the status of the West Chester employee that was diagnosed.

Photo of legionella bacteria courtesy of the CDC.