New Information Comes On Eve of Congressional Hearing
Washington, DC— Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) announced that a new Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report regarding the outbreak of Legionnaires’ Disease at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System (VAPHS) reveals that when positive legionella tests were first discovered they were not reported to the infection team.
“The CDC report underscores the need to have appropriate reporting requirements to keep people safe and informed,” said Senator Casey. “This report still leaves many unanswered questions and I am hopeful that the IG report I requested last December will provide additional answers. I will continue to press to get to the bottom of this and ensure this never happens again.”
In November, an outbreak of Legionnaires’ Disease began at the VAPHS as a result of water containing Legionella. When the outbreak occurred, Senator Casey called on the VA to explain why the outbreak occurred and to outline steps to ensure veterans have safe water.
The report indicates:
- Positive Legionella tests were not reported to the infection prevention team immediately
- There is no comprehensive schematic for the entire potable water system due to the age and ongoing modifications to the system.
- CDC acknowledges that there is no safe level of Legionella
- VAPHS, PADoH and ACHD need to re-evaluate how they identify Legionnaires’ outbreaks and situations that may lead to outbreaks
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