November 2017

November 20, 2017

Deanna Kiska – New President of U.S. Micro-Solutions

Deanna Kiska, Ph.D. is the new President of U.S. Micro-Solutions, Inc., an environmental microbiology laboratory founded in 1996 by her father, Herb Layman. Deanna received her doctorate degree in Microbiology from the Medical College of Virginia and completed a fellowship in Clinical Microbiology at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. She is board certified in Medical Microbiology. She was […]
November 20, 2017

Legionella is widespread, deadly, but preventable

The Centers for Disease Control have collected data on Legionnaires’ disease from 21 jurisdictions in the United States (20 states and 1 large metropolitan area).  Access full report here. Legionnaires’ disease is widespread in U.S. health care facilities. Definite health care-associated Legionnaires’ disease cases were reported by the majority (76%) of the 21 jurisdictions, including 72 facilities with 1-6 cases […]
November 20, 2017

Legionella: the Silent Passenger

More than 20% of Legionnaires’ disease cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control are associated with travel, which includes travel on cruise ships.  Contaminated hot tubs are the most commonly implicated shipboard sources; however, potable water systems have also been linked to transmission. From 1977-2012, there were 84 ship-associated cases of Legionnaires disease with 8 ships experiencing outbreaks of […]
November 20, 2017

Street Cleaning – a new risk factor for Legionella?

This is the first study linking Legionnaires’ disease to street cleaning (Emerg. Infect. Dis. 2017. vol. 23) A street cleaning worker in Barcelona was diagnosed with LD. Exposure to aerosolized water from the high-pressure hoses of cleaning trucks was the only risk factor identified in this case. An epidemiologic investigation revealed L. pneumophila serogroup 1 (LP SG1) in the tank […]