Bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease ware found in two areas of Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, prompting officials to order decontamination of the hospital’s water system.
The hospital findings come a week after the Army announced it had to decontaminate some 20 housing units at Baumholder, a base about 35 miles away, after officials found high levels of the water-borne Legionella bacteria.
The hospital, which treats both locally based service members and those medically evacuated from combat zones, immediately closed the affected areas and started planning the decontamination process.
It was unclear Thursday exactly which areas were affected, though a hospital message did say the areas did include showers.
Legionnaires’ disease is characterized by flu-like symptoms that appear within 10 days of exposure to the bacteria. Severe cases lead to hospitalization and 10% of cases end in death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
US Military.com / AA Magnum Analyst Blog Site News 2018.