Health officials investigating four possible Legionnaires’ cases, one confirmed

DARTMOUTH – Public Health officials are investigating four possible cases of Legionnaires’ disease after one confirmed case was found in a resident at a Dartmouth apartment building.

The Nova Scotia Health Authority said three of the possible cases were found in residents of the same building, Alderney Manor, and all involved people being treated for pneumonia.

The condition of the person with the confirmed case is still not known, and officials said lab test results on three other residents are expected until next week.

Health Authority spokesperson Everton McLean said on Thursday he didn’t know if the fourth possible case was also a resident of the same building, but officials are still trying to locate the source of the legionella bacteria.

People become infected with the disease when they breathe in mist or water droplets contaminated with the bacteria.

Medical Health Officer Gaynor Watson-Creed tells NEWS 95.7, said the disease is not contagious, and can’t be spread from person to person.

“It’s an organism that’s found around the world in soil, so in that respect you can think about it being almost anywhere,” Watson-Creed said.

“When it tracks from the soil in to the right moist environment, which is very easy for it to do, if it has the opportunity to grow there and that’s when we get in to exposure situations.”

Watson-Creed said the cluster of cases appears to be localized and is unlikely to pose a risk to the public.

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