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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Inquiry into Legionnaires' cases | Inquiry into Legionnaires' cases |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The Health Protection Agency is investigating whether three cases of Legionnaires' disease are linked. | The Health Protection Agency is investigating whether three cases of Legionnaires' disease are linked. |
| Three men, two in their 40s and one in his 50s, are being treated at an intensive care unit in Shropshire. | |
| The patients are thought to have been admitted to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital at the end of August. | The patients are thought to have been admitted to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital at the end of August. |
| The agency said there was no evidence they were linked but it was speaking to relatives of the patients to see if there was one source of the bacteria. | |
| A spokeswoman for the Birmingham and Black Country Strategic Health Authority said: "Every year there are 350 cases of Legionnaires' in England and Wales and out of those half are isolated cases, often linked to foreign travel. | |
| "There is no evidence to suggest these three cases are linked and we know at least one of them has recently been abroad," she said. | |
| Breathing difficulties | Breathing difficulties |
| Legionnaires' disease is most often contracted by inhaling mist from water sources such as whirlpool baths, showers, and cooling towers. | Legionnaires' disease is most often contracted by inhaling mist from water sources such as whirlpool baths, showers, and cooling towers. |
| It cannot be passed from one human to another. | It cannot be passed from one human to another. |
| The most common cause of the disease is contaminated air conditioning systems. | The most common cause of the disease is contaminated air conditioning systems. |
| Patients show flu-like symptoms in the early stages which can develop into fever with breathing difficulties following. It is fatal in 5-15% of cases. | Patients show flu-like symptoms in the early stages which can develop into fever with breathing difficulties following. It is fatal in 5-15% of cases. |
| The three patients are said to be poorly, but stable. | The three patients are said to be poorly, but stable. |