120 infected, 24 in intensive care, 4 dead from Legionnaires Disease in Portugal

In 24 hours the number of people in this country believed to be infected with Legionnaires Disease, caught by inhaling water particles, has soared to close to 120. 

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And another major disease issue. 120 people! No common source of transmission found. (Well, besides water.)

What's going on with bacteria & viruses? It seems like they're way more virulent than they used to be. Scary!

a reply to: nerdyclutzyblonde

This is not new, rules regarding how to handled water in water pipes have not been followed, someone screwed up badly so it seems.

a reply to: nerdyclutzyblonde

as population increases and pollution gets worse with all the people all over the globe are crammed into places i suspect these types of outbreaks will also increase

It's at 180 and a lot of people in the hospital not accounted yet, after 15hours gmt none else got on official numbers.
4 confirmed deaths.
no one knows yet were it was spread from with conflicting reports on were some of the people are from (story changed).

Although Legionella can be found in domestic water heaters, the culprit in large scale infections is usually a cooling tower for an air conditioning system. The water in cooling towers have the correct temperatures for Legionella to thrive and a cooling tower creates a cloud of water droplets that spread the disease. In the US, biocides are added to cooling tower water to kill legionella.

a reply to: nerdyclutzyblonde

The transmission medium for Legionnaires Disease has always been dirty water. This is really sad considering Portugal is part of the EU and hence should be able to provide adequate uncontaminated clean water for there population. However nothing new is going on with bacteria & viruses aside from the paranoia provided by our mass media networks.

I always thought legion airs disease was from dirty air cons? Were else can you get it? From drinking water?

a reply to: PhoenixFreeman

Legionnaires disease is a form of pneumonia that requires specific conditions to thrive and multiply. You can indeed contract it from stagnant or dirty water sources but not from someone with said affliction sneezing or coughing.

en.wikipedia.org...'_disease

a reply to: andy06shake

Oright thanks my friend just had pneumonia from being on a cruise

a reply to: nerdyclutzyblonde

ill get destroyed for saying this but to me it makes sense that if the planet is warming in general then virus' that thrive in warmer environments might be getting ready to have a real good time in the sun...i personally think climate change has a part in this but haven't really done any research...just a hunch

Update on this mess
233 patients and 5 dead
Patient number one got sick october 18
It started to appear on people who were really far away (porto) and had no connection to vila franca de xira wich coincided with what some people had Said before

a reply to: nerdyclutzyblonde

Had a friend in her 70's that died from Legionanaires in the 1990's. She had went to a wedding. It was the central air conditioning unit and standing water.

Here is a link to OSHA:
OSHA Legionella eTool

Legionellosis is a common name for one of the several illnesses caused by Legionnaires' disease bacteria (LDB). Legionnaires' disease is an infection of the lungs that is a form of pneumonia. A person can develop Legionnaires' disease by inhaling water mist contaminated with LDB. LDB are widely present at low levels in the environment: in lakes, streams, and ponds. At low levels of contamination, the chance of getting Legionnaires' disease from a water source is very slight. The problem arises when high concentrations of the organism grow in water systems. Water heaters, cooling towers, and warm, stagnant water can provide ideal conditions for the growth of the organism.

Warm, stagnant water provides ideal conditions for growth. At temperatures between 20°C-50°C (68°-122°F) the organism can multiply. Temperatures of 32°C-40°C (90°-105°F) are ideal for growth. Rust (iron), scale, and the presence of other microorganisms can also promote the growth of LDB.

Water mist from cooling towers or evaporative condensers, evaporative coolers (swamp coolers), humidifiers, misters, showers, faucets, and whirlpool baths can be contaminated with LDB and if inhaled or aspirated into the lungs can cause the disease.

a reply to: PhoenixFreeman
Improperly maintained hot tubs are a cause as well/

Lets not assume this disease is contracted from a limited way. My daughter's grandfather was on kidney dialysis near death while my daughter was being born. It wasn't until we almost lost him that they identified it as Legionnaire instead of a nasty flu, although he did lose a lung over the whole ordeal. He is/was a truck driver and likely contracted it from a drinking fountain.

After the CDC's investigation, they were unable to determine the source of contact.

a reply to: nerdyclutzyblonde

Instant communication is the difference. The western world has had internet for some time, and as the less commonly heard of regions of the world catch up, we hear their news as well. Suddenly we have the lives of 7.1 billion people broadcast on the internet. When 120 of them get sick in some remote part of the world, we hear about it. It only seems so shocking because before those 120 people got sick, maybe even died, perhaps they got better and we never heard about it.

The world is certainly changing, but not in the way you think. You simply need to adapt to this new perspective.

It's slowing down it's now at 316 infected 7 dead and 45 discharged from the hospital
Apparently it's known were it started but they are not telling the public (because people get sick and die but somehow they don't have the right to know) it's speculated it's from one cooling tower of several in the zone