Legionnaires' cases traced to Golden Sands Condo in OC
Legionella, the bacteria responsible for the respiratory condition Legionnaires' disease, has been found in the tap water of Ocean City's Golden Sands Condo, the Worcester County Health Department reported.
"Golden Sands first tested positive back in the fall when we discovered a small cluster of two cases who contracted Legionnaires' after staying there," Worcester County director of communicable diseases Kathy Derr said. "We've identified an additional two cases last month."
Derr stated that, following the incidents in fall of 2015, Golden Sands did take preventive measures to contain the outbreak.
"When these situations occur, we require that the facility has a water consultant expert," Derr said. "We're good with public health and we can certainly help with education, but we are not water quality experts. So the facility has hired a water consultant who has developed a plan for them. They began implementing that plan, which included the addition of a second chlorine filtration unit, which they've been running for a couple months now. We ask that the facility to continue to test their water to prove that the plan is effective. We've been requiring tests every two weeks."
Ed Galyon of Coldwell Banker, who have an office at Golden Sands, commented on what was done following the initial cases.
"Following the first cases, we had super chlorinated all of the pipes in the building," Galyon said. "We saw a significant drop in bacteria after that. We then hired the people that put in the system at Seascape, and they pumped sodium chloride through the pipes. After that, we saw an almost zero level of bacteria."
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Legionnaires' is a form of pneumonia, with symptoms including shortness of breath, headaches, coughing and fever. Breeding often in freshwater, man-made environments such as fountains and hot tubs, the CDC reports that Legionnaires' is fatal in approximately 1 in 10 people. However, it is a non-contagious disease which can be treated if medical attention is received quickly.
"It is treatable if people get medical attention promptly," Derr said. "Which is why we think its important for people staying at the Golden Sands to know the risks, and if they start experiencing symptoms, to seek medical attention."
Of the four cases reported from Golden Sands in the past year, none have been fatal.
Derr further said that, while Legionnaires' is a serious condition, it is not regularly tested for and not a commonly spread disease.
"We don't regularly test for it, probably the only reason, from a public health standpoint, for us to test for it is if there is a report of illness, and specifically reports of Legionella," Derr said. "In this case, when we have two patients who have the same source, that's considered an outbreak."
Derr said with two cases considered an outbreak, and the four total cases stemming from Golden Sands considered one continuing outbreak, there have been a total of eight Legionella outbreaks in Worcester County since 2003.