September 19, 2012 – The Direction régionale de santé publique de la Capitale-Nationale (DRSP) has confirmed that 180 cases of legionellosis, including 13 deaths, have been recorded in Quebec City since the outbreak last August. Since August 29, the Régie du bâtiment du Québec and the City of Quebec have been inspecting all the cooling towers present within a defined perimeter of the city. These would be the source of the contamination.

Despite the disinfection procedures, the bacteria Legionella does not appear to be under control as these are three new cases confirmed since September 13. The DRSP nevertheless maintains that these are “people whose symptoms began before or shortly after the end of the disinfection process for cooling towers.¹. ” 

For the moment, no case has been declared in other regions of Quebec. Anyone infected with Legionella must be reported to the DRSP in order to stop a possible spread of the bacteria outside the infected area. 

The investigation report, specifying the exact source of the outbreak of legionellosis and the conclusions related to this infection, should be made public in mid-October according to the director of the DRSP, Doctor François Desbiens. 

As a reminder, Legionellosis is an infectious disease that takes shape in facilities where there is the presence of water at a temperature ranging from 25 ° C to 42 ° C. Contamination occurs through inhalation of infected water particles present in the ambient air. It may take up to ten days for the first symptoms to appear. They are similar to those of a cold or the flu: fever, cough, chest pain, etc. The bacteria Legionella is detected in three ways: urine tests, blood tests and lung samples. Legionnaires’ disease remains uncommon in Canada. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) reports that approximately 75 cases are reported each year. 

Mélissa Archambault – PasseportSanté.net

^{1.Regional Directorate of Public Health. (2012, September 14). Press release: Review of the Legionella outbreak. Retrieved from http://www.dspq.qc.ca/documents/COMLegionellose-2012-09-14.pdf}