City of Flint Legionnaires disease outbreaks cause a 10th death

Officials confessed they may never know what caused the Legionnaires disease outbreaks in 2014 and 2015 in the City of Flint, but have now confirmed that a tenth person has died of the disease. Between June 2014 and October 2015, a total of 88 people in Genesee County were infected with the disease. Although the actual source may never be known it is widely believed that the changes to the City of Flint water delivery system must have been involved.

Dr. Eden Wells, chief medical executive of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, said: “This outbreak correlates with the timing of the switch in the Flint water system to the Flint River. That whole time period is really represented by the legionella outbreak that ended in October 2015, which is the time we switched back to the Detroit water. “

There had been widespread complaints about the water from local residents who raised issues concerning colour, smell and taste of the water supplied from the Flint river. Health issues were also raised and were further exacerbated when chlorine water treatments led to other related health impacts.