File – This representative photo shows the reflection of health workers in a hospital corridor. (Photo by Ted S. Warren / AP)
TO Newsroom
UPDATED at 7:43 a.m.PT – Friday, January 8, 2021
Portland officials are investigating a deadly outbreak of legionella in a retirement home. On Tuesday, the Multnomah County health department said one person has died and four others have been admitted to Rosemont Court hospital.
Officials are urging the more than 100 other residents to relocate temporarily after a number of people in the facility report symptoms. The request is extremely cautious as Legionnaires’ disease, a more serious form of pneumonia, is not particularly contagious.
“The good news is that it is not passed from person to person,” explains Dr. Jennifer Vines of Multnomah County Health explains. “It usually comes from some kind of water source where there has been some kind of failure in the water maintenance.”
Some residents of Rosemont Court in North Portland move temporarily after 4 people became ill with Legionnaires’ disease.
“Legionnaires’ disease is a bacterial infection caused by a bacterium called Legionella, which typically spreads from a water source,” says Dr. Vines.@KINNews pic.twitter.com/WnQsTXlWFf
– Jacquelyn Abad (@JacquelynAbadTV) January 6, 2021
Officials have said more than 20 residents have already left the house, while others decide to stay. Meanwhile, the health department said it is working with building managers to treat the water system, which has been identified as the likely source of the outbreak.