A North Portlander Dies After Apartment Water Supply Becomes Contaminated

Multnomah County health investigators found a North Portland apartment building's water supply to be contaminated with Legionella bacteria after residents at Rosemont Court on Dekum Street began falling ill with a pneumonia. Four people were hospitalized and one has died.

The Multnomah County Health Department is working with the Portland Water Bureau and the property manager to fix the problem and is urging evacuation of the building for at least two weeks. The county is offering motel accommodations, meals, bottled water and other resources to temporarily support tenants, says health department spokeswoman Julie Sullivan-Springhetti.

Doctors are required to report certain diseases to the county and, in this case, it was Legionnaires' disease, Sullivan-Springhetti says. Many people do not feel ill if they come in contact with the bacteria, but smokers, the elderly and immunocompromised individuals are at higher risk.

More than 100 tenants live at Rosemont Court, a low-income apartment building for seniors. A handful of residents chose to vacate last night and 60 residents left today.

"It's hard for any of us to leave our homes and we recognize it's pretty difficult," Sullivan-Springhetti says. "It's pretty upsetting for people; they have been there a long time and they're older."

Legionella bacteria naturally occurs in fresh water, but can make people sick if it gets into a building's pipe system. The county explains: "For those who get symptoms, the first to appear are usually flu-like (fever, tiredness, muscle aches, and headache). Signs of a serious Legionella lung infection (pneumonia) include cough and chest pain. Many people sick with Legionella also have diarrhea."

It can spread from toilet water spraying as it flushes, from sinks and from ingesting tap water.

The disease is not known to spread through human-to-human contact. Health officials are working to treat the building's water system, which includes shutting off the water to flush out the pipes.

"There's a disinfection process with chlorine to kill the bacteria. You don't want that water moving through diluting that chlorine," Sullivan-Springhetti says. "You want pipes to be disinfected then retested so people can be sure the water is going to be safe."

Health officials say they are working to rule out any potential outbreaks at other locations and are advising the public to report any symptoms by calling the county at 503-988-3406.

"We will know more as more time passes. It's a series of ruling out cause and effect and making sure that what was causing people to get sick is completely gone and it will be safe to get people back in," Sullivan-Springhetti says. "Now we just do the science and hope we get some answers."