One more person has died from Legionnaires in the Middlesex-London region this past week, bringing the total number of fatalities to five. Currently, four people are hospitalized, resulting in a total of 105 cases. The Middlesex-London Health Unit re-declared the Legionnaires’ outbreak on Aug. 26, following 25 additional cases. Multiple cooling towers at nine separate locations in London tested positive for live Legionella bacteria, linking the source of the outbreak to cooling towers at Sofina Foods Inc. The disease is not transmitted through eating or drinking, and food products from Sofina Foods Inc. remain safe to consume. According to the MLHU, Legionnaires’ disease is spread when people breathe in small water droplets containing the bacteria, like the vapour released from cooling towers. The disease can result in serious pneumonia. The MLHU is currently reporting 96 total hospitalizations from the outbreak.
