Montreal public health investigating 3 cases of Legionnaires' Disease
Montreal public health officials are investigating three cases of legionellosis, known as Legionnaires' Disease, including one death.
The Montreal Regional Public Health Department said Wednesday the three cases were reported in the Anjou and Mercier West areas between July 29 and Aug. 8. One of the three people, a man, died from complications of the disease.
The three cases took place in an area east of Highway 25, south of Highway 40 west of George V Avenue and north of the St. Lawrence River. An investigation is underway to determine if all three cases were exposed to the same source. Public health said that the investigation specifically targets the cooling towers with perimeter water.
"Right now, we're trying to find out if these cases are linked," said Jean-Nicholas Aubé, spokesperson for CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal.
SYMPTOMS
The cases are not cause for alarm among the general population, Aubé said. Nevertheless, public health is encouraging Montrealers to remain vigilant for symptoms similar to pneumonia or even COVID-19, including:
- high fever
- chills
- cough
- fatigue
- muscle aches
- loss of appetite
Symptoms may appear two to 10 days after exposure to the bacteria. As with COVID-19, call 811 or seek medical attention at the onset of these symptoms.
Aubé said that while transmission of the disease is rare, it's not unheard of in Montreal, with cases reported to public health every year.
Last year, there were 52 reports of Legionnaire's disease. This year, as of today, there have been 27 reports.
SOURCES
Legionella bacteria, which causes the disease, can be found in the environment, mainly in fresh water, but sometimes in significant quantities in artificial water sources like water cooling towers or water heaters.
The disease cannot be transmitted by drinking contaminated water, Aubé specified. Rather, it's transmitted through inhaling contaminated water droplets in the air.
The primary sources of infection are:
- Drinking water systems (especially hot water): water heaters, shower heads or faucet aerators
- Water cooling towers
- Spas, hot tubs, whirlpools or Jacuzzis
- Home humidifiers
- Respiratory treatment devices (e.g. CPAP)
WHO'S AT RISK
Public health officials said the chances of contracting the disease are very low, even in vulnerable people. It is not transmitted from person to person and does not usually affect healthy people.
"The disease rarely, and I mean rarely, affects people that are in good shape," said Aubé.
There is a greater risk for people:
- Over the age of 50
- Who smoke
- Who drink a lot of alcohol
- With a chronic disease
- Who are immunocompromised
- Who have had recent surgery
The fatality rate of Legionnaires' Disease is about 10 to 15 per cent but varies with age, health status, severity of illness, and the time to start antibiotic treatment, officials said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.