Legionnaires' Case Confirmed At Lakewood Medical Facility

LAKEWOOD, WA - A Western State Hospital patient who was transported to another medical facility in Lakewood for treatment of pneumonia has tested positive for Legionnaires' disease, state officials are saying.

The disease is not typically spread from person-to-person contact, but through water droplets that contain the Legionella bacteria. Legionnaires' disease causes respiratory distress similar to pneumonia, and can be deadly for older or immune-compromised individuals.

Because Legionnaires can spread through ventilation systems, some Western State Hospital employees are worried that they are at risk of contracting the disease. A nursing supervisor at the hospital told the Associated Press Wednesday that he's heard of a number of Western State Hospital employees getting sick, although those cases have not been confirmed as Legionnaires' disease.

State and county officials are investigating Western State Hospital for potential contamination.

This case is the most recent in a rash of Legionnaires' disease infections across the state. Two University of Washington Medical Center patients died in September after contracting the disease, which was found in the water supply at the hospital's Cascade Tower and in ice machines.

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