NHS alert after Legionnaires' death

Infection controls are under way after a patient died and two other people were seriously ill with Legionnaires' disease, a hospital trust said.

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust said an elderly patient had developed the disease while at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford.

Health officials are already undertaking an inquiry after a former guest at a Pontin's holiday camp in Blackpool, Lancashire, was diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease. The woman is seriously ill in hospital in Birmingham.

The disease is caught by individuals inhaling water droplets which carry the Legionella bacterium. Legionella naturally occurs in the environment.

The Trust said staff at the hospital had begun disinfecting shower and bath fittings. It added showers, baths and water births had been temporarily suspended and the hospital's entire water system flushed as a precaution.

One case was admitted to the William Harvey Hospital from the community already ill with Legionella infection. The person had not been a recent in-patient, but had visited the hospital for an out-patient appointment during the previous two weeks.

The Trust said a patient with no known connection to the William Harvey Hospital died after being admitted to the Kent and Canterbury Hospital already ill with the Legionella infection.

Source: The Metro