A 2010 outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in Wisconsin has been linked to a decorative water wall in a hospital lobby, according to a study published Tuesday that suggested the popular architectural feature can pose dangers in a health-care setting, especially for people with weakened immune systems.
Eight people contracted the severe and potentially life-threatening form of pneumonia caused by the bacteria. None had been admitted to the Milwaukee-area hospital at the time of exposure. But they all had walked by the water wall in the main hospital lobby, researchers said. The disease is spread through inhalation contact with contaminated water sources.
One person who got sick was a delivery man. Three others were picking up medication at the hospital pharmacy. Three were outpatients. And one man was waiting to pick up his wife.
“He really enjoyed sitting next to the water wall,” said Thomas Haupt, a Wisconsin health- division epidemiologist and lead author of the study. “These water walls are indeed very beautiful, but they’re very risky.”
All eight had either underlying medical conditions or other factors that increased their risks of getting Legionnaires’ disease. Three were hospitalized in intensive care and were on mechanical ventilators; all eight survived.
