Five additional people have contracted Legionnaires’ disease in Hamilton and another person has died, following a cluster of cases first detected a year ago in the Mercer County town.
The total number of cases stretching back to August 2020 is now nine, with three deaths, and they remain under investigation by the state Department of Health, the town and state reported Tuesday in a joint statement.
Hamilton first reported four cases of Legionnaires last August, two of which were fatal.
Since then, officials said Wednesday, they identified five more cases, one from November 2020 and four from May to August 2021.
One person died last month, described only as an elderly township resident.
“The water is safe to drink, but there are basic precautions that residents can take to help protect themselves – such as regularly flushing water at their taps and maintaining their hot water tank,” state epidemiologist Dr. Tina Tan said in a statement issued by Hamilton.
Tan noted that home air conditioning units do not use water as a cooling agent and do not aerosolize water, thus are not a risk for growing Legionella, the bacteria that causes the disease, which is spread through the inhalation of infected water droplets.
Legionnaires’ disease is a pneumonia that is treatable with antibiotics, and health officials stressed that anyone with symptoms seek medical attention.
The main symptoms - cough, shortness of breath, fever, muscle aches, and headaches – are similar to those of COVID-19. And while many people exposed to Legionella do not get sick, people who are 50 years or older, especially those who smoke cigarettes, or with other medical conditions or weakened immune systems, are at greater risk for the disease.
Hamilton gets a portion of its drinking water from Trenton Water Works, the city-based public utility that also provides water to parts of Lawrence, Ewing and Hopewell Valley towns. Hamilton is also served by Aqua, a private water company.
But officials said the Legionnaires issues appears to be based in Hamilton.
“While water samples collected at [Trenton Water Works’ treatment plant and central pumping station] have consistently shown no presence of Legionella, water samples collected from homes and businesses in Hamilton Township served by TWW, have identified the presence of Legionella,” the statement says.
“There is concern that Legionella may be present in other buildings and homes in the area,” the statement says.
No other towns served by Trenton Water Works have publicly reported Legionnaires cases.
Mark A. Lavenberg, Trenton’s water and sewer director, said in the statement: “We continue to work with our partners at the New Jersey Department of Health and Hamilton Township to empower residents in Hamilton and in our service area on how to protect themselves and their families from Legionnaires’ disease.”
Lavenberg said Trenton Water Works is launching a public awareness campaign on Oct. 1 to educate their customers about Legionnaires, which he characterized as a “critical public health issue.”
Officials say Hamilton homeowners and businesses are urged to consider precautions to protect themselves from Legionnaires, a list which can be found here, and said healthcare providers treating Hamilton residents should maintain a higher “high index of suspicion” for Legionnaires’ disease when evaluating symptoms.
“I want to thank [state health officials] for their involvement in studying the frustrating frequency of Legionnaires’ disease cases in Hamilton over the past decade and working with TWW and our Division of Health to keep the residents of Hamilton safe,” Hamilton Mayor Jeff Martin said. “Clean and safe drinking water is a human right – one that we will continue to fight to make sure all residents can comfortably know they have access to.”
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Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com.
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