FLINT, Mich. (WJRT) - Hurley Medical Center has diagnosed a patient with Legionella pneumonia, which is also known as Legionnaires' disease.
Hurley says it is investigating the home environment of the patient and is working with the state and county health departments to find any potential health care-related exposures.
Hospitals are required to have water safety plans to assure awareness of any legionella.
The Genesee County Health Department is asking anyone who was a patient or visited Hurley Medical Center since July 12 to monitor themselves for any symptoms for 14 days after your last visit.
Symptoms often look like pneumonia. Legionnaires' patients also can be suffering from fever, fatigue, cough, chest pain and shortness of breath.
Health experts say there was an average of 26 cases of Legionnaires' disease reported in Genesee County residents each year from 2017 to 2021. The illness is more prevalent in hot summer months.
People in the city of Flint are familiar with the disease. A dozen people died in a Legionnaire's outbreak in 2014 during the city's water crisis.
Michigan's solicitor general, who is leading the Flint water investigation, acknowledged there likely are many more deaths caused by the water crisis.
