Legionnaires' Disease Leaves 1 Dead, 10 Ill Near Cleveland

People can get the disease by breathing in mist contaminated with the bacteria. Those who become sick experience symptoms similar to severe pneumonia.

A health official says an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease east of Cleveland left one person dead and sickened 10 others. 

Lake County Health Commissioner Ron Graham says investigators believe at least a few of those people were sickened during the summer by Legionella bacteria that entered the air from cooling towers at a company's plant in Eastlake. Those include the 54-year-old man who died in August.

The cooling towers in question have been cleaned, and officials said Wednesday that no bacteria was found in subsequent testing.

Graham says officials may never know definitively if the other cases are linked to the same facility.

People can get the disease by breathing in mist contaminated with the bacteria. Those who become sick experience symptoms similar to severe pneumonia.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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