2 diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

2 diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease

Two workers at a Michigan Air National Guard base were diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease.

Twenty-nine employees were diagnosed and six hospitalized with upper respiratory illnesses between July 12 and July 24 at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in suburban Detroit, according to a July 27 press release. An airman and a civilian worker have since been diagnosed with Legionnaire’s disease, a bacterial infection that can lead to high fever, chills and a cough. Between 8,000 and 18,000 people are hospitalized each year with the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Two buildings have been cleaned and sanitized, the air-conditioning units have been serviced and sanitized, and the cooling tower was treated with a disinfectant. Air- and water-quality test results are pending. The buildings are home to offices of the Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Command’s Life Cycle Management Command.

“A pattern of illness became evident July 19,” TACOM commander Maj. Gen. Kurt Stein said in a release. “We immediately began mitigation efforts. By July 22, we determined the common factor was duty location so we removed the individuals from those areas and informed the workforce.”