Legionnaires’ Disease at Mt. Carmel Grove City Hospital (6/5/19)

Legionella Outbreak at Mount Carmel Grove City Hospital

Franklin County Public Health is working with Mount Carmel Grove City, the Ohio Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to investigate a Legionnaires’ Disease outbreak at the Mount Carmel Grove City Hospital. The source of the outbreak is unknown at this time.

Confirmed Case Data from 6/5/2019
Total Confirmed 13
Age Range 50-90 years
Average Age 69 years
Gender 7 female 6 male
Hospitalized (overall) 13
Deaths 1**
Hospital Exposure Date Range 04/27/2019-05/31/2019
Jurisdiction 5 Franklin County 
  6 Columbus City
  1 Pickaway County
  1 Out of State
** Cause of death has not been determined

Mount Carmel Grove City has implemented the following steps to protect those who have contact with the hospital and to reduce the risk of more infections:

  • Flushing all hot and cold water lines and fixtures throughout facility
  • Implementing immediate practices to disinfect hot and cold water lines and fixtures
  • Testing and cleaning all ice machines
  • Making sure the on-sight cooling towers are cleaned and serviced
  • Testing water sources and providing test results to the Ohio Department of Health
  • Providing their water management plan to the Ohio Department of Health for review
  • Passing out bottled water to patients and staff
What is Legionnaires’ Disease?

Legionnaires’ Disease is a severe form of pneumonia caused by the Legionella bacterium. Although Legionella can live in fresh water, it’s often associated with large or complex water systems that are usually found in hospitals, nursing homes or hotels. You cannot get Legionnaires’ Disease from another person. You can only get it by breathing in small water droplets that contain Legionella from sources such as hot tubs or showers.

Symptoms include:

  • Cough
  • Shortness of breath
  • Muscle aches
  • Fever
  • Headache

Anyone who was a patient, worked or visited Mount Carmel Grove City should take care to watch for symptoms.  If you have symptoms or concerns, please contact your healthcare provider. 

For other questions or concerns, please call Franklin County Public Health at (614) 525-6687 or call Mount Carmel’s hotline at (614) 265-8111. You can also visit their website for more information.  

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