Healthcare facilities should shut down indoor decorative fountains to avoid the spread of Legionnaires’ disease, according to a new study.
An outbreak of the respiratory illness in southeast Wisconsin in 2010 was linked to a decorative fountain in a hospital lobby, according to a study published in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology. Legionella, the bacteria responsible for Legionnaires’ disease, is spread through inhalation of contaminated water sources.
Of those who contracted the disease, one person was infected, researchers later determined, while making a delivery.
From the February 01, 2012 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
