Legionnaires’ disease reported at state prison in Montgomery County

Two inmates tested positive this week for Legionnaires’ disease at the State Correctional Institution-Phoenix in Montgomery County, a state prisons spokesperson confirmed Friday.

“The first positive test was received on Monday. All inmates and staff have been notified to report any symptoms consistent with legionella,” the bacteria that cause Legionnaires’ disease, Maria Bivens, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, said in an email.

”The facility is testing for potential sources of the legionella bacteria,” Bivens said, adding that the Corrections Department is working with the Montgomery County Department of Health “to proactively remediate the most common sources of the bacteria.”

Bivens said the two inmates are receiving medical treatment and are in stable condition.

Legionnaires’ disease is a type of pneumonia, and is not spread person-to-person, but instead contracted by breathing in small droplets of water containing legionella bacteria.

Bivens said the department last year contracted with a legionella specialist to develop a water management plan to improve prevention and remediation at all state prisons.

Officials at SCI Phoenix have conducted a high-temperature flush of all housing unit water systems, as well as ongoing tests and “proactive remediation” in all areas of the prison, Bivens said.

Prison officials also are limiting showers until the high-temperature flush is completed, Bivens said.

Megan Alt, a spokesperson for Montgomery County government, said the county’s Department of Health and Human Services Office of Public Health was notified this week that there were positive or presumptive diagnoses of Legionnaires’ disease at SCI Phoenix.

Montgomery County health officials met with staff to provide short-term recommendations for safely providing water for use at the prison, such as bottled water and filters, Alt said.

The county officials also provided recommendations for sampling, testing, and treatment to address the source of the bacteria, Alt said.

Last year, an inmate at a Pennsylvania state prison near State College tested positive for Legionnaires’ disease.

Philadelphia is notoriously linked to Legionnaires’ disease. In 1976, attendees at an American Legion convention were stricken and 34 people died.