The Wilson County Health Department is reporting four cases of Legionnaires’ disease confirmed at a local facility. There are also two more cases being tested, according to Joyce Wetherington, public information officer for Wilson County Health Department.
A notice from Peggy W. Bulluck, administrator, is posted outside Wilson Pines Nursing and Rehabilitation Services in Wilson.
The letter, dated Thursday, reads in part: “This memorandum is intended to provide you with information and dispel any rumors you may have heard related to an alleged outbreak of the legionella bacteria in Wilson County.
“Specifically, we have been advised that one or more facility residents have tested positive for the legionella bacteria.”
Bulluck writes that Wilson Pines is working with the Wilson County Health Department and the Centers for Disease Control to monitor the situation and “institute best practices to contain its spread.”
Legionnaires’ is a form of bacterial pneumonia. A person may develop Legionnaires’ if he is exposed to legionella through breathing contaminated mist or vapor. It cannot be transmitted from person to person.
According to health department officials, the people are recovering.