{"id":144318,"date":"2026-05-18T11:33:31","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T11:33:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/2026\/05\/18\/19-cases-of-legionella-infection-linked-to-kaiser-bay-area-hospital\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T11:35:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T11:35:44","slug":"19-cases-of-legionella-infection-linked-to-kaiser-bay-area-hospital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/2026\/05\/18\/19-cases-of-legionella-infection-linked-to-kaiser-bay-area-hospital\/","title":{"rendered":"19 cases of Legionella infection linked to Kaiser Bay Area hospital"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

Kaiser Permanente is still trying to determine the source of the bacteria responsible for 19 recent cases of Legionella infections identified at a hospital in the San Francisco Bay Area. <\/p>\n

19 infections were linked to Kaiser’s medical center in Santa Clara. Kaiser said in a recent statement that most of those who fell ill are recovering at home.<\/p>\n

According to Kaiser, the bacteria were identified through “robust routine internal monitoring processes.” <\/p>\n

\u201cOur medical center is a safe place to be seen and receive care,\u201d the health system said. <\/p>\n

Kaiser did not say how sick those infected were, nor did he say how the bacteria were discovered. <\/p>\n

Infection can occur when Legionella \u2014 which appears naturally in environments such as lakes and rivers \u2014 gets into construction water systems and people breathe in mist containing the bacteria, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. bacteria grow best hot temperature,<\/a> Between 77 and 113 degrees. <\/p>\n

This disease does not spread from one person to another.<\/p>\n

The CDC says the most serious form of Legionella bacterial infection leads to Legionnaires’ disease, a serious and potentially fatal type of pneumonia. Legionnaires’ disease can be treated with antibiotics, but early treatment improves the chances of recovery. <\/p>\n

A mild form of Legionella infection called Pontiac fever can also cause pain and headaches. <\/p>\n

According to the California Department of Public Health, Legionella can grow and spread in appliances such as hot tubs, cooling towers, hot water tanks, complex plumbing systems, showerheads, sink faucets and decorative fountains. Most people exposed to Legionella do not get sick, but in some cases the bacteria can cause serious infections. <\/p>\n

“While we work to determine the source, out of an abundance of caution, last week we concluded additional water treatment measures and preventative measures to ensure the safety of all patients, staff and visitors,” Kaiser said in its statement. \u201cAs a result of mitigation efforts, our hospital and medical office buildings are operating normally.\u201d<\/p>\n

The CDC said about 1 in 10 people with Legionnaires’ disease die from complications of the disease. Of those who are exposed while in a health facility, about 1 in every 4 is likely to die. <\/p>\n

had Legionnaires’ disease discovered<\/a> That followed a large outbreak affecting attendees of an American Legion convention in Philadelphia in 1976, according to the CDC. The outbreak caused 221 illnesses and 34 deaths across Pennsylvania. <\/p>\n

Investigators eventually suspected that the bacteria were airborne and that they had infected people after contaminating the air conditioning system at the convention hotel.<\/p>\n

The CDC says, “Since 1976, air conditioning systems have changed and agencies around the world have more stringent cleaning and sanitation standards for cooling towers and large-scale air conditioning systems.” <\/p>\n

Other ways facility managers can reduce the risk of Legionella include disinfecting cooling towers and water systems, establishing water management programs, and performing regular water system maintenance. <\/p>\n

Legionnaires’ disease has been on the rise since the early 2000s, according to CDC.<\/a> <\/p>\n

There were seven cases of Legionnaires’ in 2024 informed<\/a> in the northwest corner of the city of Westminster, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency. The agency said last week that no source of that outbreak was ever found, “as is often the case.”<\/p>\n

When two people died after visiting a day spa in Richmond in 2023, Contra Costa County health officials found high levels of Legionella bacteria. spa<\/a>and detected two other guests who had laboratory-confirmed Legionnaires’ disease. Contra Costa County health officials said the hot tub at the day spa did not have a permit, and was never inspected by health officials. <\/p>\n

And in 2022, health investigators traced the possible source of 17 Legionella infections in Napa County \u2013 all of whom either lived in, worked in, or visited the city of Napa. Sixteen people were hospitalized, 10 of whom required intensive care, and one died, according to the till<\/a> CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. <\/p>\n

Napa County health officials said investigators found high levels of Legionella bacteria in a cooling tower at the Embassy Suites Napa Valley, located on California Boulevard. Said.<\/a> None of these cases were hotel guests. <\/p>\n

According to MMWR, investigators said the cooling tower had malfunctioned, causing the injection of chemicals that inhibit bacteria growth to occur either too little or not at all. <\/p>\n

The report says cooling towers can spread Legionella bacteria over a wide area, with people living within 0.6 miles of a tower being most at risk of infection. <\/p>\n

“Cooling towers without a comprehensive water management program or lacking routine maintenance are associated with an increased risk of Legionella colonization,” the report said. <\/p>\n

Cooling towers were also blamed in a large outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in New York City last year, which was linked to 114 cases, 90 hospitalizations and seven deaths. Legionella bacteria, which genetically matched samples from patients, was found in the cooling towers of Harlem Hospital and a nearby construction site. City<\/a>.<\/p>\n

CDC also in 2024 informed<\/a> On the outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease on two cruise ships. The investigators found a previously unknown source of the bacteria: “hot tubs located on private balconies, which have become more common as newer ships come into service” and “are subject to less stringent operational requirements” than public hot tubs. <\/p>\n

“Hot tubs can be a source of growth and transmission of Legionella when they are inadequately maintained and operated,” the CDC said. <\/p>\n

Times Librarian Carrie Schneider contributed to this report. <\/i><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kaiser Permanente is still trying to determine the source of the bacteria responsible for 19 recent cases of Legionella infections identified at a hospital in the San Francisco Bay Area. 19 infections were linked to Kaiser’s medical center in Santa Clara. Kaiser said in a recent statement that most of those who fell ill are<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":144322,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[535,1502,1646,2206,9986,31760,31759,2926],"class_list":["post-144318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bible-verse","tag-area","tag-bay","tag-cases","tag-hospital","tag-infection","tag-kaiser","tag-legionella","tag-linked"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144318"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144318\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":144323,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144318\/revisions\/144323"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christiancorner.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}