Health
Victoria records first death from Legionnaires' disease outbreak, investigation into cause limited | Melbourne
In Victoria, Legionnaires' disease outbreakAuthorities have narrowed down the source of 60 cases to two suburbs in Melbourne's west.
Victoria's Chief Health Officer Dr Claire Looker confirmed the death of a woman in her 90s on Friday, saying she felt unwell on Tuesday evening and was taken to hospital where she died shortly after.
“We offer our condolences to her family,” Looker said.
“She was an elderly woman who suddenly became unwell and was taken to hospital in a very poor condition where she passed away that evening.”
She said there were 60 active cases as of 3pm on Thursday, with a further 10 suspected cases. State's worst Legionnaires' disease outbreak in more than 20 years.
of First outbreak on July 26thAll but one of the confirmed cases and seven suspected cases are in hospital, several in intensive care.
Looker said officials believe the people contracted the virus between July 5 and 20 and began showing symptoms on the 15th.
“Recent weather patterns may explain the wider than usual spread of Legionella bacteria in this outbreak,” she said.
“We therefore urge anyone with symptoms to seek medical attention immediately, especially if they have been in the capital region. Melbourne Before you feel sick.”
Common symptoms of Legionnaires' disease include chills, cough, fever, headache, and muscle aches. Other atypical symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and confusion.
Those most at risk are adults over 40, people with weakened immune systems, smokers, and people with chronic lung, heart, or kidney disease.
Mr Looker said authorities were still searching for the source of the contaminated water that may have caused the infection – possibly a cooling tower – and had narrowed the search area to Laverton North or Derrymat.
There are 100 cooling towers in the two suburbs, 41 of which have been inspected, tested and disinfected, but results will not be available for several days, she said.
But Looker said he was “confident” authorities had already visited the infected tower.
“They've likely already visited the tower and disinfected it,” Looker said.
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“This is driven by some pretty compelling epidemiology and overlaps in places visited by a lot of cases. I'm being cautious. Of course, we can't say that for sure until we have test results.”
The Department of Health has also written to 400 cooling tower operators across Melbourne asking them to submit test results.
It is Victoria's largest outbreak since 2000, when a cooling tower at Melbourne Aquarium became infected, killing four people. Legionella pneumophila Bacteria.
Looker said it “quickly became apparent” that aquariums were a common site of infection in this outbreak, which led to widespread testing, including of asymptomatic people.
She said the latest outbreak was “extraordinary” because of the widespread number of symptomatic cases.
“We hypothesize that there are a few reasons for this. It's likely due to a significant amount of Legionella in the cooling tower. It's also possible that weather patterns are a factor,” Looker said.
She said there was evidence that cooling towers infected with Legionella bacteria could release aerosols “up to several kilometres” into the air.
Meteorological Agency experts and atmospheric scientists have been called in to assist the outbreak response team.
Associate Professor Megan Rees, head of respiratory medicine and sleep disorders at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, said that although the infection could become severe and some patients may require respiratory support, if diagnosed early it could be treated with antibiotics.
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Sources 2/ https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/aug/02/victoria-legionnaires-disease-outbreak-death-toll-source-cases The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article |
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