Legionella bacteria
Update: 4:55 p.m. Thursday: WSU has found three more contaminated buildings, bringing the number to six, according to a Facebook posting:
Clarification added to include building names: Preliminary results have identified cooling towers on three campus buildings: The Towers Residential Suites, Purdy/Kresge Library and the College of Education Building, that have tested positive for legionella.
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Three buildings at Wayne State University have tested positive for Legionnaires' disease, a form of pneumonia spread by bacteria that thrives in moist environments. The university notified staffers Wednesday evening, the Detroit News reports. Only one case of the disease has apparently been reported; the WSU employee, who works in the faculty administration building, has been receiving treatment for about a week.
The employee's illness was the first indicator that university facilities may have the bacteria growing in some systems. The suspect bacteria, known as legionella, were found in a bathroom in the faculty administration building, a men's room in Scott Hall, and another men's room in the Cohn Building, the News reports.
Legionnaires' disease was first identified in 1976, when attendees at an American Legion convention in Philadelphia fell ill from bacteria spread via a hotel air-conditioning system. More cases were identified in Flint in the midst of that city's water crisis, linked to a common exposure at a hospital in that city.
