9-case cluster of rare pneumonia being investigated by Gaston County health officials
Public health officials are investigating a cluster of nine confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ disease among people who recently visited Gaston County, according to a county spokesperson.
Legionnaire’s disease, a type of pneumonia, is contracted by breathing in particles containing Legionella bacteria, according to a Friday news release. Common sources of the bacteria include hot tubs, decorative fountains, cooling towers and plumbing systems. The source of the recent illnesses is unclear, said Gaston County spokesperson Adam Gaub, and officials have not been able to link the cases to one area in the county.
“We’ve used travel history from case investigations to request testing and sampling for Legionella bacteria from potential exposure sources,” Gaub wrote in an email to The Charlotte Observer.
Legionnaire’s symptoms include fever, fatigue, muscle aches, chills, nausea, diarrhea, confusion, cough, shortness of breath and headaches, according to the release. Though most people exposed to the bacteria do not contract disease, it can be severe.
Legionnaire’s disease cannot be contracted from drinking water and does not spread from person to person, the release said. People with chronic health conditions and those over 50 have a higher risk of developing Legionnaire’s disease. Health officials are not recommending testing for people who do not have symptoms, even if they may have been exposed.
“Most healthy people exposed to Legionella do not get sick,” Gaub wrote.
Legionnaire’s disease has been on the rise in the United States since 2000, according to the American Lung Association, but is considered to be relatively rare. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported about 10,000 people in the U.S. were diagnosed with the disease in 2018.
In 2019, the NCDHHS reported an outbreak of the disease stemming from the NC Mountain State Fair in Fletcher in which 136 people were diagnosed with Legionnaire’s disease. In total, four people died and 96 were hospitalized.
