More cases of Legionnaires' disease confirmed Advertisement More cases of Legionnai...
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Cases in Nashua to linked to Hampton outbreak, officials say
Hide Transcript Show Transcript WEBVTT FLAVIA: THIS IS OUT OF THE NORMAL RANGE. WE DON̢۪T TYPICALLY SEE THIS MANY CASES. JESSICA: THE NASHUA DIVISION OF PUBLIC HEALTH IDENTIFYING TWO CASES OF LEGIONNAIRE FLAVIA: IN NASHUA, WE̢۪VE SEEN TWO CASES, THIS MONTH OF AUGUST, AND WE WENT THROUGH THE PROCESS OF INTERVIEWING BOTH CASES, AND THEY ARE NOT RELATED TO THE ONES IN HAMPTON. JESSICA: AND, SHE SAYS, THOSE TWO CASES ARE NOT CONNECTED TO EACH OTHER NASHUA PUBLIC HEALTH NURSE FLAVIA MARTIN SAYS THEY HAVEN̢۪T BEEN ABLE TO IDENTIFY WHERE ONE OF THE CASES WAS CONTRACTED, BUT DO KNOW FOR SURE IT̢۪S UNRELATED TO HAMPTON OUTBREAK. THE OTHER CASE WAS CONTRAC TED OUT OF STATE. PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS SAY ITS RARE TO SEE THIS MANY CASES IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, BUT THEY ALSO BELIEVE THE PUBLIC HEALTH RISK IS LOW. THIS TIME OF YEAR IS WHEN THE DISEASE IS MOST APPARENT FLAVIA: SUMMERTIME, BECAUS PEOPLE̢۪S ACTIVITIES AROUND WATER, OUTDOORS. IT IS SOMETHING THAT̢۪S MORE TYPICAL OF THIS TIME OF YEAR THAN SAY IN THE WINTER TIME. JESSICA: LEGIONNAIRES IS A BACTERIA FOUND IN WATER, THAT WHEN VAPORIZED AND INHALED INTO THE LUNGS, CAN DEVELOP INTO PNEUMONIA. IT IS NOT CONTAGIOUS. FLAVIA: NOT FROM PERSON TO PERSON, IT IS NOT CONTAGIOUS, IF YOU SWIM IN THE WATER, IF YOU BATHE IN THE WATER, YOU CANNOT CONTRACT IT THAT WAY, EVEN IF YOU DRINK THE WATER, IT IS NOT A METHOD OF TRANSMISSION, WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT INHALING IT. JESSICA: AGAIN, HEALTH OFFICIALS STRESS THE RISK TO THE PUBLIC IS LOW THEY SAY T More cases of Legionnaires' disease confirmedCases in Nashua to linked to Hampton outbreak, officials say
NASHUA, N.H. â€"More cases of Legionnaires' disease have been confirmed in New Hampshire, but not all are related to the outbreak in Hampton.
Health officials said two new cases of the illness were reported in Hampton, bringing the total number of cases to 14. In addition, two unrelated cases have been reported in Nashua.
AdvertisementOfficials said the risk to the public is low, but they acknowledged that this is an unusually high number of cases for the state.
"This is out of the normal range," said Flavia Martin, public health nurse for Nashua. "We don't typically see this many cases."
The Nashua Division of Public Health has identified two cases of Legionnaires' disease, Martin said.
"In Nashua, we've seen two cases this month of August, and we went through the process of interview ing both cases, and they are not related to the ones in Hampton," she said.
Those cases are also not connected to each other, Martin said. Officials are still trying to determine where one of the cases was contracted, but they said they confirmed that the second case was contracted out of state.
Fourteen cases have been confirmed in Hampton, and one person, described by health officials as an elderly adult from out of state, has died. Two hot tubs at Hampton spas have been shut down as a precaution, but officials said they are still waiting for test results to determine the source of the disease.
Public health officials said it's rare to see so many cases in New Hampshire, but they also believe the public health risk is low. The disease is most common this time of year.
"Summer time, because of people's activities around water, outdoors," Martin said. "It is something that's more typical of this time of year than, sa y, in the winter time."
Legionnaires' disease is caused by a bacteria found in water that can enter the lungs if the water is aerosolized and inhaled. It can lead to pneumonia, but it is not contagious, officials said.
"Not from person to person, it is not contagious," Martin said. "If you swim in the water, if you bathe in the water, you cannot contract it that way, even if you drink the water. It's not a method of transmission. We are concerned about inhaling it."
Officials said symptoms of Legionnaires' are similar to the common cold or flu. They said such symptoms are more of a cause for concern for anyone who has been in an area where they might have been exposed.
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Source: Google News US Health | Netizen 24 United States
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