Officials investigating an outbreak of legionnaires’ disease in Moncton have completed their probe without finding a common source of the infections that made nine people ill.
Seven people were hospitalized and one person died after the outbreak was declared in early August.
Regional medical officer of health Dr. Yves Leger told reporters today that industrial cooling towers were suspected as the cause, but he said testing failed to confirm them as the source.
A number of towers, however, carried low levels of bacteria and required cleaning and disinfection.
Legionnaires’ disease can cause fever, cough, shortness of breath, aches and pains, and it can be fatal in roughly 10 to 15 per cent of cases.
Leger says its possible the cases were sporadic and not linked to each other.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 24, 2021.