PITTSBURGH (AP) — The water system at one of Pittsburgh's Veterans Affairs hospitals is being chlorinated because an unspecified number of patients have Legionnaire's disease.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (http://bit.ly/T5VU6k ) was the first to report the incident Friday at the University Drive campus in the city's Oakland section, one of three facilities in the VA Pittsburgh Health System.
A spokesman didn't immediately return a request for comment, but a news release says bacteria that cause the particular type of pneumonia have been found in the water supply. The hospital has a copper ionization system that's supposed to eliminate the bug, but it may not be working properly.
Legionnaire's is not contagious from person to person so clinical care isn't being interrupted. The hospital didn't immediately say how many patients are sick or how badly they are ill.
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Information from: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, http://www.post-gazette.com
