Legionnaires' Disease at VA Hospital

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by Caladium

Hmm, well you make a good point here. That's definitely true with the flu. I know people who refuse to go into a certain store because they're afraid they'll catch the flu. So they go into the store across the street and the same number of people are sneezing and coughing and contagious over there. (Not that Legionnaires is like the flu, but sort of the same idea)

You can't catch Legionnaires from another person.

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by Hopes

You can't catch Legionnaires from another person.

True, but I could believe that buildings across the streets from each other would share the same water supply, which is how Legionnaires is spread.

[greg42]

Originally Posted by Caladium

True, but I could believe that buildings across the streets from each other would share the same water supply, which is how Legionnaires is spread.

Usually it's internal to the building though, not necessarily from the external supply. It's more common for it to come out of the hot water system than the cold, it seems. And it's a particular problem in a hospital because it's far more likely to affect someone with compromised immunity than it is to affect a healthy person, and the hospital is obviously going to be filled with people who are ill already.