United States: One of the largest outbreaks – linked to legionnaires’ disease, is ongoing in Melbourne, where as many as 60 people have tested positive for the disease. Along with this, there are ten suspected cases that are under observation.
According to the preliminary information shared by Victoria’s health department, the outbreak is out of control, raising the worries of the local health authorities. The situation was addressed by the acting chief health officer of the state – Dr David Lister, who have outlined that the number of cases have reached up to 20 in a time span of just 24 hours, according to reports by the Guardian.
The alert by Lister read, “Most cases have required hospitalization, with multiple admissions to intensive care for severe community-acquired pneumonia.”
According to the officials, it is the largest outbreak reported in Victoria since 2000 – the time when as many as 150 people caught the infection and four (4) lost their lives to the infection after the bacteria spread in Melbourne Aquarium cooling towers.
Who are the infected individuals?
According to the information shared by the health agencies, the cases have been seen among the people aged more than 40 years. All the positively tested people visited or reside in metropolitan Melbourne. During the starting days of the weeks, the health department narrowed the cases down to the north-west suburbs.
Unknown water source!
The health authorities have mentioned in the alert that the source for water contamination is unknown and the investigation for the same is ongoing. However, it is anticipated that a cooling tower will be the source for the same. The first ever case linked to the outbreak emerged on Friday.
While elaborating the matter, the premier of the state – Jacinta Allan mentioned that the health department been working to find the precise source of the outbreak and it will take time, as per the Guardian.
On Thursday, she was quoted saying, “As people are presenting with the illness, thorough testing is being undertaken and those tests take a number of days to go through processing.”
Further, she mentioned, “It is helping to identify a geographic range … around the north-west of the city. Further work is being undertaken to pinpoint precisely that location, and advice will be provided [when it is available].”
Furthermore, she highlighted that as a response, the health department has been testing and cleaning the cooling towers across the city as they might be the major reason behind the outbreak.
In addition to this, she mentioned that people must immediately respond against the symptoms linked to the illness – which are chills, fever, cough or feeling unwell.
In this regard, Allan stated, “Particularly for people who may have other underlying conditions or who may be vulnerable or immunocompromised, this can be quite a severe illness. There are many people in ICU and many who are currently hospitalized as they’re getting treatment for this illness,” as per the Guardian.
Concerns of the Health Experts!
An associate professor of infectious disease at the Australian National University – Sanjaya Senanayake stated that it difficult to detect the infection among the people because just very less people exposed to the bacteria get seriously ill.
He mentioned, “A lot of people may only present with mild systems, but they get better by themselves.”
In addition to this, he highlighted that the cooling towers can send aerosols into the air for more than a kilometre, increasing the threat linked to the disease.
Furthermore, the expert was quoted saying, “People can inhale it even though they’re not right next to the cooling tower, and that’s what also makes it a challenge, from a public health outbreak point of view, trying to pin down where people have been to isolate the cooling tower source,” adding, “Certainly, they’ll be looking at things like that with the patients here. Was there a single exposure? Did they all go to some big event, or have they just been walking within the kilometer or two of a cooling tower that’s spitting out Legionella into the air?”
Senanayake also emphasized that people with weakened immune systems, smokers, and people with chronic issues associated with the lungs, kidneys, and hearts are at utmost risk. And these people must remain cautious and vigilant until the source of the outbreak is found.
Besides this, this ‘concerning’ matter was also highlighted by the health minister – Mary-Anne Thomas who mentioned that it is very concerning that the health department has not located the source yet. She stated, “It’s not an infectious disease. So we need to locate the source and that’s how we resolve the impact,” the Guardian reported.
Further, she briefed the major sources for the Legionella, which includes natural bodies of water such as rivers, lakes, creeks, and hot springs. Along with this, she highlighted that the bacteria is also found in spas, warm water systems and artificial systems which are created for cooling or heating the water.