Fatal Legionellosis after Water Birth, Texas, USA, 2014 - Volume 21, Number 1—January 2015 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal - CDC

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Fatal Legionellosis after Water Birth, Texas, USA, 2014 - Volume 21, Number 1—January 2015 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal - CDC

Volume 21, Number 1—January 2015

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Fatal Legionellosis after Water Birth, Texas, USA, 2014

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Elyse Fritschel , Kay Sanyal, Heidi Threadgill, and Diana Cervantes

Author affiliations: Texas Department of State Health Services, Arlington, Texas, USA

Suggested citation for this article

Abstract

In 2014, a fatal infection with Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 occurred in a neonate after a water birth. The death highlighted the need for infection control education, client awareness, and standardization of cleaning procedures in Texas midwife facilities.

Legionella species are the causative agents of legionellosis, an illness ranging in clinical presentation from a mild febrile illness known as Pontiac fever to a potentially fatal pneumonic condition termed Legionnaires’ disease (1).Legionella species are ubiquitously found in the environment, and their proliferation is supported by warm water and the presence of biofilms (2). Every year, 8,000–18,000 persons are hospitalized with Legionnaires’ disease in the United States (3). In Texas, USA, 763 confirmed or probable cases of Legionella infection were reported during 2008–2013 according to data from the National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (http://wwwn.cdc.gov/nndss/script/nedss.aspx). Of these case-patients, none were <1 month of age. Despite the scarcity of reported cases of legionellosis in infants, underdeveloped lungs and immune systems place infants at high risk for severe complications. The following case report summarizes the events surrounding the death of a neonate caused by L. pneumophila after water birth.

Ms. Fritschel is an epidemiologist at the TDSHS Region 2/3 in Arlington, Texas. Her primary research interests include infectious disease epidemiology and spatial analysis.

References

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Suggested citation for this article: Fritschel E, Sanyal K, Threadgill H, Cervantes D. Fatal legionellosis after water birth, Texas, USA, 2014. Emerg Infect Dis [Internet]. 2015 Jan [date cited]. http://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid2101.140846

DOI: 10.3201/eid2101.140846