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Volume 31, Number 1—January 2025
Synopsis
Cluster of Legionellosis Cases Associated with Manufacturing Process, South Carolina, USA, 2022
, Lindsay Zielinski1, Abdoulaye Diedhiou2, Nakia Clemmons2, Jessica C. Smith, Jessica L. Rinsky, Troy Ritter, Melisa Willby, Nancy Burton, Karl Feldmann, Kevin Dunn, Rebecca Whisenhunt, Victoria Greer, Alberto M. Acosta, Mitchell Garber, Claressa E. Lucas, Kelley C. Henderson, Chris Edens, and Linda Bell
Table 1
Characteristics of patients with legionellosis associated with a manufacturing facility, South Carolina, USA, May 16, 2022–November 30, 2022*
| Characteristics | Case classification, no. (%) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Confirmed LD | Probable LD | Probable Pontiac fever | Total | |
| No. cases |
10 (29.4) |
20 (58.8) |
4 (11.8) |
34 (100) |
| Patient sex | ||||
| F | 3 (27.3) | 5 (45.5) | 3 (27.3) | 11 (32.4) |
| M |
7 (30.4) |
15 (65.2) |
1 (4.3) |
23 (67.6) |
| Age group, y | ||||
| 18–49 | 8 (29.6) | 15 (55.6) | 4 (14.8) | 27 (79.4) |
| 50–64 |
2 (28.6) |
5 (71.4) |
0 |
7 (20.6) |
| Work shift | ||||
| First | 4 (23.5) | 11 (64.7) | 2 (11.8) | 17 (50) |
| Second | 2 (50) | 2 (50) | 0 | 4 (11.8) |
| Third | 1 (20) | 3 (60) | 1 (20) | 5 (14.7) |
| Unknown |
3(37.5) |
4(0.5) |
1(12.5) |
8 (23.5) |
| Outcome | ||||
| Died | 1 (50) | 1 (50) | 0 | 2 (5.9) |
| Hospitalized |
9 (60) |
6 (40) |
0 |
15 (44.1) |
| Symptoms | ||||
| Cough | 10 (31.3) | 18 (56.3) | 4 (12.5) | 32 (94.1) |
| Fever |
9 (31) |
18 (62.1) |
2 (6.9) |
29 (85.3) |
| Underlying conditions† |
3 (37.5) |
4 (50) |
1 (12.5) |
8 (23.5) |
| Areas of exposure‡ | ||||
| Break room 1 | 1 (10) | 6 (60) | 3 (30) | 10 (29.4) |
| Break room 2 | 1 (25) | 3 (75) | 0 | 4 (11.8) |
| Break room 3 | 2 (33.3) | 4 (66.7) | 0 | 6 (17.7) |
| Break room 4 | 3 (33.3) | 5 (55.6) | 1 (11.1) | 9 (26.5) |
| Break room 5 | 3 (60) | 2 (40) | 0 | 5 (14.7) |
| Chiller§ | 1 (100) | 0 | 0 | 1 (2.9) |
| Cooling towers | 2 (66.7) | 1 (33.3) | 0 | 3 (8.8) |
| Water jet cutters | 2 (25) | 4 (50) | 2 (25) | 8 (23.5) |
| Sprinkler system | 1 (100) | 0 | 0 | 1 (2.9) |
| Ice bank§ | 3 (37.5) | 5 (62.5) | 0 | 8 (23.5) |
| Misters | 1 (100) | 0 | 0 | 1 (2.9) |
| Drinking water fountain | 3 (21.4) | 9 (64.3) | 2 (14.3) | 14 (41.2) |
*LD, Legionnaires’ disease. †Patients with any of the following conditions: alcohol abuse, cancer, cerebral accident/stroke, chronic diarrhea, chronic liver disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes mellitus, heart disease, blood cancer, immunosuppressive condition, drug use, organ transplant, chronic renal failure, sickle cell anemia, or systemic lupus erythematosus. ‡Self-reported frequently visited areas aside from the assigned work station. §Component of the comfort cooling system at the facility that does not aerosolize water.
1These first authors contributed equally to this article.
2These authors contributed equally to this article.