State health officials say a patient contracted Legionnaires’ disease at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Needham.
Massachusetts health officials say a patient at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Needham mysteriously contracted Legionnaires' disease.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health calls it a "healthcare associated" case, but how the patient got it inside the hospital is unknown.
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Legionnaires' is not transmitted from person to person. Rather, it's caught from a specific bacteria in soil or water — for example, by inhaling infected droplets from air conditioning units, hot tubs or showers.
Symptoms can range from minor to very serious pneumonia.
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State health officials have not said how the patient is doing or how severe the symptoms are.
"We are investigating this case and continue to take all necessary steps to protect our patients, visitors and staff," Beth Israel Needham told NBC10 Boston in a statement.
The Department of Public Health says it has provided the hospital with infection control measures that must be implemented.
"If our department of public health experts believe that the infection could have been transmitted within the hospital, then I'm sure that's exactly what they are looking to mitigate and making sure that it doesn't go any further than it has," said Dr. Amir Mohareb from Harvard Medical School.
Legionnaires' can sometimes lead to outbreaks, but as things stand right now, there is only one case at the hospital.
