It is now safe to drink the water at Maryland General Hospital, officials said, after testing in March resulted in a positive culture of Legionella bacteria.
“We?ve restored the system fully since April 15,” hospital spokeswoman Monica Smith said. “They still continue to treat the water and test it regularly.”
A March 27 test returned positive results for Legionella and the hospital put out a warning March 30 advising patients to seek help if they got sick after a stay in the hospital.
“We haven?t had any cases in our patients since that warning,” Smith said.
Legionella, named after the 1967 American Legion conference where it sickened and killed otherwise healthy older veterans, is a water-borne bacteria that causes flu-like symptoms. It can kill up to 50 percent of those infected, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene recommended in 2000 that all hospitals test their water supply regularly for Legionella and screen patients and treat their pipes if the bacteria is detected. The guidelines are voluntary but go beyond federal guidelines, which call for monitoring only after infections are detected.
The state guidelines followed 18 investigations between 1988 and 1999 into possible Legionella cases. Infections occurred in hospitals, assisted living facilities, manufacturing plants and long-term care facilities, including one that sickened 21 people.
The state has no database on who is complying and there is no enforcement component, The Examiner reported Thursday. However, some hospitals contacted by The Examiner said they are conducting water tests.
“We test biannually,” said Polly Ristaino, infection control officer for St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson. “Several years ago, we installed a copper/silver ionization system. It works and prevents Legionella in our hot-water system.”
Copper/silver ionization works by passing an electric current between two alloy rods in the water supply line. Both metals have antimicrobial properties and exist in trace quantities in the treated water.
St. Joseph started testing years before the state put guidelines in place, spokeswoman Vivienne Stearns Elliott said, after they had one case of Legionella infection.
Hospitals are required to report only positive results, said Allison Eatough, spokeswoman for Baltimore Washington Medical Center. “We have never had a positive result here,” she said. “But, we?re always prepared to share our records with the state if needed.”
