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Legionnaire’s Disease Found in Ohio Prison
By: Associated Press
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – A prison health center in Columbus is sanitizing its shower and water system after an inmate being treated there was diagnosed with Legionnaire’s disease.
The 69-year-old prisoner suffering from multiple chronic health conditions was housed in the Zone B minimum security prison facility at the Franklin Medical Center.
He experienced two days of nausea and vomiting before being taken Saturday to Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center, which made the Legionnaires’ diagnosis. His condition is not considered life-threatening.
Legionnaires’ is a bacterial condition potentially dangerous to those with weakened immune systems. A hospital outside Columbus recently experienced an outbreak of the disease.
The prisons department says it is inspecting Zone B, which houses 364 inmates, and flushing and hyper-chlorinating the center’s showers and water system.