(CLEVELAND) -- The Cuyahoga County Board of Health is investigating six cases of legionella in the St. Columbkille parish community in Parma.
The Board has confirmed that a 93 year-old female from Parma had been diagnosed with Legionnaire’s Disease earlier this summer and passed away on July 5. The case is one of the case the Board of Health is currently investigating as part of a possible legionella cluster.
The Board released announced it continues to work cooperatively with officials at Saint Columbkille, conducting environmental sampling and interviewing members of the church community. They remind everyone the results of the environmental sampling may take up to ten business days.
The Catholic Diocese of Cleveland issued the following statement on legionella involving St. Columbkille parishioners:
"St. Columbkille Parish is committed to ensuring the safety of its parishioners and all who may visit the parish. The parish continues to fully cooperate in the Cuyahoga County Board of Health’s ongoing investigation into the potential cause of the reported cases of legionella involving St. Columbkille parishioners. Inspectors from the Board of Health have visited the parish multiple times in recent days and have found no evidence that St. Columbkille Parish is the cause of these cases. Additional testing is being conducted by the Board of Health today, although it may take several days or more before the results of that testing are received. In the meantime, St. Columbkille Parish is following all recommended actions provided by the Board of Health. "
You can follow this link to the Center for Disease Control’s legionella page to learn more: https://www.cdc.gov/legionella/about/index.html
Copyright 2018 iHeartMedia Photo Courtesy Catholic Diocese of Cleveland
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