Maine health officials seek links in 6 cases of Legionnaires' disease

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating six recent cases of legionellosis in the Bangor area to determine if they are connected.

"The Maine CDC is actively investigating to try to determine a common exposure among the cases or to determine whether they coincide," said the agency in a statement. "Health care providers have diagnosed about one new case every month since November 2018. All individuals have been hospitalized and a person with the disease has died, although Maine CDC has not established the bacterium as cause of death."

Penobscot County has recorded an average of three cases of Legionnaires' disease each year. Maine has recorded 33 cases in 2018 and 7,500 across the United States.

"Legionnaires' disease is not transmitted from person to person," the statement said. "Maine CDC announces this survey to raise public awareness, but locals do not need to take specific action to address it."

"Legionella Bacteria are found naturally in freshwater environments, such as lakes and streams. Legionella can become a health problem when it develops and spreads in artificial water systems, such as cooling towers used in air conditioning systems, spas, fountains and large systems plumbing. Legionellosis, a type of pneumonia, can occur when individuals breathe water droplets containing the bacteria. Symptoms include coughing, shortness of breath, fever, muscle aches and headaches."

People at increased risk of illness are people aged 50 and over, smokers, people with weakened immune systems, cancer or other diseases. Most people treated with antibiotics recover completely, but one out of every 10 CDC dies, said the CDC.

"Previous