Long past to deadly threat
History of Legionnaires’ outbreaks where assisted living residents fell ill
It was less than six months ago, before Promenade at University Place opened, that tests ordered by state health officials came back negative for legionella bacteria.
Now the new assisted living facility at 1228 Western Ave. is undergoing more testing to try to find out the source of the contamination that led to two residents contracting Legionnaires’ disease, state Health Department officials said.
One resident died Wednesday after falling ill; the cause of death hasn’t been determined.
The building had been a Best Western Sovereign Hotel, also the site of Legionnaires’ outbreaks in 2011 and 2012. Because of that history, state health officials said they required the senior housing facility to test for the bacteria.
“It does make it interesting that this location was previously the source of a time and space cluster,” said Brian Hutton, deputy commissioner of the
health department’s office of public health. “As we conduct an investigation on the current issue, one of the things we know right away is they completely replaced the plumbing system and had a negative test for bacteria for the premise system in October.”
Legionnaires’ disease is a type of pneumonia caused by bacteria. People are typically exposed to it by breathing in the mist from a shower, hot tub or air conditioning system that is contaminated with the legionella bacteria. Those who have cancer or compromised immune systems; smoke or have smoked; or are over 50 years old are at greater risk. It is not spread person to person.
Samples from both the environment as well as one of the residents who fell ill will be analyzed to determine if they’re the strain of bacteria that can lead to Legionnaires’ disease, whether they’re live cultures, and if they’re possibly the same strains that were seen during the 2011 and 2012 hotel-era outbreaks.
“The legionella bacteria are very slow-growing and hard to culture,” Hutton said. “We’ll hopefully know in a couple weeks if it is live, viable bacteria that was present.”
Health Department officials said from 2010 to 2012, 19 people who had stayed at the Best Western contracted the disease. Six were from other states, 13 were New York state residents.
When initial cases were confirmed, the hotel shut down in early 2012 while water boilers and pipes were replaced. The system was flushed and reopened after samples showed the bacteria was gone. Yet four more guests developed the disease after it reopened. There were no more cases linked to the hotel after 2012.
The outbreaks led to five separate lawsuits brought by people who had contracted Legionnaires’ after stays at the Best Western. Their stays ranged from October 2011 to April 2012, according to county court documents.
Albany attorney Michael Conway, who represented all those in the cases against Best Western, said he was “shocked that this is happening at this building again.” He said all the cases were closed, but declined to speak about the outcomes.
A letter Conway sent to Albany County Judge Michael Lynch in 2013 sought a resolution in one of the five cases, mentioning that other cases before it had been settled, according to court documents.
Conway has represented many families who’ve dealt with Legionnaires’ outbreaks in the Capital Region over the years and expressed frustration over how legionella bacteria are described as naturally occurring.
Legionella bacteria are found naturally, usually in water, but grow best in warm water like hot tubs, cooling towers, hot water tanks and large plumbing systems that aren’t properly maintained. Health officials said a specific subgroup of legionella pneumophila strain commonly causes Legionnaires’.
But Conway argued when the bacteria is found in an institutional setting it’s not natural, but a sign of neglecting basic sanitary measures.
“Appropriate sanitation can be expensive,” he said, and some places may cut corners to save money. “Legionnaires’ disease doesn’t just happen. It’s the definition of negligence.”