Westmoreland Manor water being tested for Legionnaires' disease

State health officials confirmed Tuesday an investigation is ongoing at Westmoreland Manor for a suspected case of Legionnaires’ disease.

Residents and employees at the county-owned nursing home in Hempfield have been using bottled water to drink and to clean with since Friday, when the investigation started.

“The department is investigating a possible case of Legionnaires’ disease at the facility,” said Nate Wardle, a state health department spokesman in Harrisburg. “Westmoreland Manor is working with the department in regard to this investigation and following our recommendations regarding water usage.”

Wardle declined to reveal other details, including how many suspected cases of the disease were reported.

County officials declined to comment, and Manor administrators have not responded to requests for comment.

Westmoreland Manor is home to about 400 residents.

“There is no concern about employees’ or residents’ health,” county Solicitor Melissa Guiddy told the Tribune-Review on Monday, though she declined to disclose the reason that tests were conducted, citing confidentiality concerns.

Residents and staff are not to use tap water for drinking, food preparation, showering or cleaning until test results are analyzed, she said. Those results could be back as early as this week.

Similar testing was completed last summer and no issues were found, Guiddy said.

Legionnaires’ disease, also known as legionellosis, is a serious pneumonia-like ailment that can require hospitalization and can be fatal, according to the health department.

It is caused by exposure to the Legionella bacteria that is found in water and can be spread through water distribution systems or bodies of water.

Residents over 50 are most susceptible to Legionnaires’ disease, according to the state.

The disease was named after an outbreak during a American Legion convention in a downtown Philadelphia hotel in 1976. It resulted in 34 deaths and 200 illnesses.

According to information on the state health department’s website, Pennsylvania is among the states with the most annual diagnoses of Legionnaires’ disease. A report issued in 2017 found about 300 to 500 cases of the disease are diagnosed annually in Pennsylvania.

Last year, Redstone Highlands in Greensburg implemented emergency water precautions — including suspending showers as it tested its water system — after a resident tested positive for Legionnaires’ disease. Water tests ultimately revealed no Legionella contamination at the skilled nursing facility.