Since late September 2018, six (6) cases of confirmed Legionella pneumonia (also known as Legionnaire’s Disease) have been reported among persons that work at a facility in the Northern Panhandle. These cases are tightly clustered in time and there may be potentially associated cases that have not yet been identified. To date, the common occupational exposure remains the only epidemiologic link between cases. Federal, state and local public health officials are closely working to identify potential sources of exposure and to mitigate risk of additional cases.
Recommendations for Healthcare Providers
Healthcare providers should consider Legionella infection when evaluating community-acquired pneumonia and ask patients about their occupation or travel in the 10 days prior to symptom onset. Clinical features of Legionnaire’s Disease generally include radiographic evidence of pneumonia with cough, fever, myalgia, and chest pain; hospitalization is common. Additional information on Legionnaire’s Disease can be found at https://www.cdc.gov/legionella/clinicians.html.
Diagnostic testing for Legionella infection should include both urine antigen testing and culture of respiratory specimens. Best practice is to obtain both sputum culture and a urinary antigen test concurrently. Sputum should ideally be obtained prior to antibiotic administration, but antibiotic treatment should not be delayed facilitating this process. For patients with a positive urine antigen test, respiratory specimens should be collected and sent to the Office of Laboratory Services for culturing. Please contact Lindsay Barr at (304) 558- 3530 ext. 2110 for information on collection and shipping of respiratory specimens. All suspected and confirmed cases of Legionella pneumonia should be reported to the local health department.
For more information, visit the Office of Epidemiology and Preventions Services, Division of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at www.dide.wv.gov or via phone at 1 (800) 423-1271, extension 1; (304) 558-5358, extension
1; or the answering service at (304) 347-0843.