Western North Carolina’s current outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease is part of a nationwide trend, one researchers say will continue until government officials mandate more regulation of key water systems.
“Stop letting patients and others be the canary in the coal mine,” said Dr. Janet Stout, president of the Special Pathogens Laboratory in Pittsburgh. “We shouldn’t wait for them to get sick before acting. Our message is to be proactive and not wait until people get sick and die.”
Since 2000, rates of the respiratory infection in the United States have risen fivefold according to the CDC.