As many institutional and commercial facilities saw little or occupancy after the COVID-19 pandemic erupted in March 2020, concerns grew that facilities’ idle plumbing and HVAC systems could be harboring legionella — the bacteria that causes Legionnaire’s disease. The concerns were a reminder that the disease, first discovered in 1976, is an ongoing challenge for facility managers — as one Michigan hospital is finding out.

McLaren Flint (Mich.) Hospital was a source of Legionella bacteria for more than a decade, according to CDC documents obtained by ABC affiliate Becker’s Hospital Review. 

The 47-page letter was sent to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and is dated December 2019. Jim Haveman, former state health director, said he obtained the CDC letter after attorneys tied to the Flint water criminal investigation accidentally got a hold of it.

Legionnaires' disease, caused by Legionella bacteria, was an issue at the hospital from 2008 to 2019, according to the CDC letter. The agency repeatedly mentioned "a particular strain of Legionella identified in the McLaren Flint water system has been associated with disease for more than a decade."

Cases occurred before the hospital switched its drinking water source to the Flint River in 2014. The state reported 90 cases of Legionnaires' disease during 2014 and 2015, two of which were fatal, and has said McLaren Flint Hospital was the source.  

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