Precautionary testing for Legionnaires’ disease in the water system at the Alderney Manor in Dartmouth is underway, after a family raised concerns following the deaths of two people who were living at the residential home owned and operated by Housing Nova Scotia
Candy Webber and Jennifer Crocker came forward with a complaint to the province after their father and brother died from pneumonia within the last month.
“Our father lived in the building on Alderney there and our brother Mark was living there and taking care of him,” said Webber.
Their father Bill, who was 66 years old, was rushed to hospital on June 12 with difficulty breathing and died the next day from complications related to pneumonia and liver failure, said the family.
Their 46-year-old brother Mark died in hospital on Friday and over the weekend, their uncle, David Crocker, was diagnosed with pneumonia.
“My uncle was my father’s main help and he would be there daily to pretty much help him in the apartment,” said Jennifer Crocker.
Their uncle David is alive and being treated with antibiotics, but they thought something didn’t quite seem right.
“Two people might be a coincidence,” said Webber. “But three people, that seems like a pattern.”
The sisters did some research and found a previous case of Legionnaires’ outbreak in the building dating back to 2015, and another sample of Legionella bacteria was found in 2017.
“I remember it was in the news before,” said Webber.
David says he’s since been tested for Legionella disease which is a severe form of pneumonia and he’s still waiting on results.
“They called me today and they said the urine and sebum tests had leaked out and they wanted me to come back down and do it all over again,” said Crocker. “I said I’ve been on antibiotics for the past four days, how’s that going to affect the tests?”
In a statement, the province’s department of infrastructure and housing says the health and safety of residents is paramount.
“When we become aware of health and safety issues, we engage all relevant partners to ensure the matter is resolved in a timely manner,” said Jasmine Flemming, a department communication advisor. “There is a water management program in place at Alderney Manor that includes regular flushing and testing and additional testing has been arranged.”
Water samples from each floor are being collected and being tested for legionnaires disease and they are awaiting results.
A notification has been sent to tenants about the testing and it’s expected the results could take up to two weeks to be processed.
The Halifax Regional Municipality did arrange a building standards inspection of the apartment unit on Tuesday, which the family confirmed.
Nova Scotia Health confirmed they are looking into reports of illnesses that may be associated with that building; however, no formal public health investigating has been declared at this point.
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