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A patient at The Ottawa Hospitals General campus has been diagnosed with legionellosis, forcing the hospital to turn off the water supply to a portion of the hospital in order to disinfect it.

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In a brief statement, the hospital said the water system at the General campus is undergoing hyperchlorination.

Ottawa Public Health said its infection prevention and control team was made aware of one case of legionellosis affecting a patient at the General campus and has worked closely with the hospital, locating the source and ensuring steps are taken to protect patients and staff.

There have been no further reports of legionellosis infection at The Ottawa Hospital, according to Ottawa Public Health. All cases must be reported to public health for follow up with the patient as well as investigation.

Ottawa Public Health performed environmental testing, with support from Public Health Ontario. The hospital continues to work with public health and has hired its own environmental consultants to lead the remediation.

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The illness is a form of pneumonia caused by exposure to Legionella, the common name for the bacterium L. pneumophila. It lives in water and may infect some people who inhale water droplets from a contaminated water supply, although most people will be unaffected.

For people with healthy immune systems the risk is low, but for those that have a suppressed immune system, there is a greater risk of infection, said the hospital.

The hospital said Tuesday it immediately turned off the water on the unit where the patient was, and the issue is being addressed.

During this time, water will be temporarily unavailable on certain units. We are working with care teams to ensure alternative water sources are available during this time, to minimize the impact on patient care.

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Rachel Muir, The Ottawa Hospital bargaining unit president with the Ontario Nurses Association, said the water has been shut off between the hospitals fourth and eight floors since the case of legionellosis was identified last Friday. She said the water isnt expected to be back on until later this week, possibly the weekend.

She said staff was notified last Friday that there was a case of legionellosis and the source was located in the water system in the unit.

Muir said drinking water and ice are being supplied to all the units affected and wipes and clean water are being provided for cleaning.

Patients will be freshened up but not showered until the system is back on.

Muir called it an inconvenience but said the hospital is working hard to minimize that and keep staff and patients informed.

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The hospital said it is working closely with public health and environmental experts to remediate the issue and to turn the water back on as soon as possible.

Legionnaires disease, named after a severe pneumonia outbreak at a convention centre in the U.S. in 1976, is the most common form of legionellosis. It can also cause less severe illness. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, healthy people usually get better after being sick with Legionnaires disease, but hospitalization is often required. About 15 out of 100 people who get it will die from the infection.

Many hospital patients have compromised immune systems because of illness, age or treatment. The General campus is home to The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Program where many patients are undergoing treatment that affects their immune systems ability to fight off infection.

Safety is our top priority, and we will continue to update patients and families to ensure they have all the information they need, said the hospital.

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Hospital disinfecting water system after patient at the General diagnosed with legionellosis - Ottawa Citizen

This entry was posted on October 5, 2021 at 6:32 pm and is filed under Immune System. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |