MYSTERY LEGIONNAIRES DISEASE OUTBREAK TRACKED TO NC STATE FAIR HOT TUBS
So this is kind of freaking me out. And you’ll totally understand why. You might remember some weird news from last month. A bunch of people were getting sick with Legionnaires Disease. And roughly 10% of those infected, die from it. So yes, that’s worth a little fear. But that’s not why I’m freaking out. Health officials have finally tracked down the source of last month’s Legionnaires Disease outbreak of 128 people. Hot tubs. But even scarier? These were hot tubs on display at a NC state fair. It was the North Carolina Mountain State Fair of September, 6-15, to be exact. So how did 128 people get Legionnaires Disease from a display hot tub at a state fair? They just walked by.
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LEGIONNAIRES DISEASE CAN CAUSE SERIOUS PNEUMONIA, LUNG FAILURE, AND DEATH
So that’s why I’m freaking out a little bit. Because I took my family to a state fair last month as well. And yes, we did walk past some hot tubs on display. But fortunately, these hot tubs were clean, at least, of Legionnaires Disease. But this is some scary stuff, to be sure. You could even call it a nightmare, in fact. Legionnaires Disease is really the Legionella bacteria. And that bacteria causes serious lung infections, which you have probably heard of as pneumonia. But even when those suffering this disease receive antibiotics, they can still suffer total lung failure. That’s how 10% of people who get Legionnaires Disease die.
Related:
https://www.theblot.com/york-fever-powassan/
FOR SOME REASON, THE VAST MAJORITY OF PEOPLE IN THIS OUTBREAK HAVE THE MOST DANGEROUS INFECTION
So what about the other 90%? Usually, Legionnaires Disease causes a much more mild kind of flu, which is Pontiac fever. But what’s especially scary about this outbreak is that this time, 90% of the people affected instead have the full, Legionnaires Disease. So far, 81 people have had to be hospitalized. And yes, there is one person dead so far. So yes, when I heard about the source of this Legionnaires Disease outbreak, I freaked out just a bit. Actually, I still am.
