One autumn in the late 1990s, a number of people became ill after working at a single building at an industrial plant in a neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. Their symptoms ranged from simple coughing and other respiratory symptoms to pneumonia. At least one of the 70 people reporting symptoms died. He was 78 years old. The company voluntarily closed the building upon the recommendation of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. After all of the water systems at the plant were evaluated and disinfected, it re-opened and no new cases were reported.
1. Health departments often have less information than this when they start hypothesizing about the causative organism and its source. What is your first guess?
2. Describe the transmission characteristics of the suspected bacteria.
3. Is there a risk for a continuing community outbreak from these initial infections? Why or why not?