2 Legionnaires’ Disease Cases, 1 Death At UW Medical Center

SEATTLE, WA - Two University of Washington Medical Center patients have been diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease, and a third Legionnaires' case is being treated at the hospital, although that person is thought to have contracted the disease outside the hospital. One of the two people diagnosed at the hospital, a woman in her 20s, has died.

King County Public Health has opened an investigation into the Legionnaires' disease cases. The disease is serious and can affect a person's respiratory system with a type of pneumonia. The disease is often contracted when someone inhales water vapor contaminated with Legionella bacteria.

King County released a statement Friday about the cases:

The first patient, a male in his 40’s, was reported to Public Health on August 23, and is in the process of being discharged from the hospital. The second, a female in her 20’s, was reported to Public Health on August 24 and died on August 25. She was very ill, had multiple underlying conditions, and it is not yet known whether Legionella was a cause of death. A third patient, a male in his 60’s who was also reported to Public Health on August 24 by UWMC, was diagnosed with Legionella pneumonia, but appears to have acquired the infection in the community and not at UWMC. He remains hospitalized.

Two people were infected with Legionnaires' disease at UW Medical Center last September. The infections were traced to an ice machine and drinking fountains at the hospital, and both victims died. A Western State Hospital patient tested positive for Legionnaires' disease in December.

Image via UW Medical Center