Legionnaires' Disease Outbreak in North Portland Apartment Remains a Mystery

Rosemont Court is an apartment in North Portland that has been in the news lately due to the Legionnaires' disease outbreak that has been going on in the building for six months now.

According to KGW8, residents are forced to evacuate the building as many of them are still getting sick with Legionnaires' disease, a severe form of pneumonia or lung infection caused by legionella bacteria, even after the building's water system has been fixed.

However, health officials have not figured out the cause of this outbreak.

Legionnaires' disease Outbreak in North Portland Apartment

In January this year, Oregon Live reported a Legionnaires' disease outbreak at a North Portland apartment complex that infected four people, wherein one of them died.

Multnomah County health officials said that over 100 residents of Rosemont Court on Dekum Street need to leave the apartment after multiple residents contracted pneumonia.

County health officials said that experts have linked the outbreak to the apartment's water system and therefore immediately recommended cleaning the building's water system to remove any traces of Legionella bacteria that may have caused the sickening of residents.

20 residents first left the building and followed by more as the health department recommends.

Legionnaires' disease Outbreak Continues After Six Months

Despite fixing the building's water system, residents are still getting infected with Legionnaires' disease, forcing more residents to leave the building, KGW8 reported.

Jane Foreman, the 71-year-old resident of Rosemont Court, said that she does not want to leave her apartment where she had lived for over a decade but the Legionella situation concerns her even more now as the outbreak continues.

Since January, at least 13 have already infected the bacteria, wherein many of them were hospitalized and a 74-year-old woman died. Professionals have also run chlorine through the water system to destroy any bacteria, installed a disinfection system, and filters on faucets in the apartments.

However, three more residents have gotten sick since March 17 in which health officials said that these cases might be related to some residents not using the faucet filters properly. Until now, the source of the outbreak remains a mystery.

Rosemont Court is an affordable housing owned by the non-profit Northwest Housing Alternatives where over 100 senior citizen residents live.

What is Legionnaires' Disease?

According to Mayo Clinic, Legionnaires' disease is a severe form of pneumonia that is caused by the Legionella bacteria. Most people get infected by inhaling the bacteria from water or soil.

Older adults, smokers, and people with a weak immune system are the most at risk for contracting Legionnaires' disease. A mild form of it, called Pontiac fever, usually goes away on its own. However, untreated Legionnaires' disease could be fatal.

Symptoms of Legionnaires' disease could take two to ten days before it develops but it includes headache, muscle aches, and fever that may reach up to 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) or higher.

Other symptoms may also occur, like cough which might have some blood, shortness of breath, chest pain, gastrointestinal symptoms, and confusion, or other mental changes.

Immediate diagnosis and treatment of Legionnaires' disease could help shorten the recovery period and prevent serious complications.