MENTOR, Ohio — A case of Legionnaires’ disease has been reported in a resident at a nursing home in Mentor.
A resident at Continuing Healthcare of Mentor was diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease after transferring from another facility, according to the Mentor nursing home.
The patient is stable and being treated at the Mentor facility.
Continuing Healthcare of Mentor said that no other patients are showing signs or symptoms of the illness.
The Lake County General Health District confirmed they received tests confirming a single case of the disease at a Lake County nursing home. The health district is working with the Ohio Department of Health and the nursing home to investigate the illness.
The nursing home has fully cooperated with health officials and taken precautionary steps to protect staff and residents, Lake County health officials stated. The source of the infection is unknown at this time, and they are unaware of any other cases.
No other healthcare facilities are being tested or evaluated at this time, said Daniel Lark, Director of Environmental Health for the Lake County General Health District. Per CDC and ODH guidelines, a patient who spent the ten days prior to the onset of symptoms without leaving the facility is considered a definite healthcare-associated case. The patient was not documented to have left the facility during that time frame.
Legionnaires' disease, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "is a very serious type of pneumonia (lung infection) caused by bacteria called Legionella." The CDC said most healthy people do not get Legionnaires' disease after exposure to Legionella, but being 50 or older or having a compromised immune system can increase the risk.
The disease is not transferred from person to person. It is generally spread to people who come into contact with a water source contaminated with Legionella bacteria.
In a statement, Continuing Healthcare of Mentor said that the site of origin is undetermined at this time as the patient has recently been in other health care settings. The nursing home said it is committed to ensuring the health of the residents in its care.
Continuing Healthcare Solutions has a very effective and up-to-date policy for dealing with this and other illnesses, and we are following that policy now. We also are committed to working with our county and state partners to ensure the health of our residents, visitors and employees.
News 5 has reached out to the Department of Health to learn the names of the other facilities the infected patient has stayed to determine the origin of the disease.
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