Health & Fitness

Legionnaires' Disease Death Toll Up to 12 in Flint Area

New data shows three additional Genesee County cases of the respiratory disease, two of them fatal.

Beth Dalbey's profile picture
Beth Dalbey, Patch StaffVerified Patch Staff Badge
|

FLINT, MI – The deaths of two more people in the Flint area have been attributed to Legionnaires’ Disease, bringing to 12 the number of people whose deaths from the respiratory ailment may be linked to the city’s tainted water supply, public health officials said Monday.

In a statement, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said that 12 of 91 deaths from Legionnaires' Disease in 2014 and 2015 occurred in Genesee County.

See Also

Find out what's happening in Fentonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

The MDHHS said the three additional cases, two of them resulting in death, were identified in a review of hospital testing data.

State officials are continuing to investigate a possible link between a spike in Legionnaires’ Disease and the public health crisis in Flint, where the city’s 100,000 residents were exposed to dangerously high levels of lead when the city began drawing water from the Flint River in 2014.

Find out what's happening in Fentonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Michigan Chief Medical Executive Dr. Eden Wells said in the statement that health officials “remain vigilant in identifying any potential case associated with the outbreak.”

Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon is scheduled to testify before Congress on Wednesday.

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

More from Fenton