Sick with Legionnaires’ disease?
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Elliot Olsen has regained millions of dollars for clients who have been harmed by Legionnaires’ disease. If you are one of the Maryland transit workers who contracted Legionnaires, please call (612) 337-6126 for a free consultation.
Two Maryland Transportation Authority employees contracted Legionnaires’ disease, compelling MTA officials to close the administration building at the Interstate 895/Baltimore Harbor Tunnel toll plaza.
In addition, MTA officials automated the toll booths after learning of the two cases of Legionnaires’ disease, a potentially deadly form of bacterial pneumonia. The MTA said in a statement that the two employees have received medical treatment.
Said Pete Rahn, who serves as both MTA chairman and state transportation secretary: “While there’s no confirmation that the building is the source of the illness, we believe the safety of our employees and visitors to the administration building dictates that we close the facility while tests are conducted.”
Legionnaires’ disease occurs when Legionella bacteria are inhaled in the form of microscopic water droplets, such as vapor or mist. Legionella thrive in warm water and are found primarily in human-made environments (see below).
Maryland transit workers: tolls automated
Most of the MTA employees who work at the administrative building and the toll plaza have been put on administrative leave, and some are working from other MTA sites.
The cash-payment lanes are now automated, operating like cashless toll lanes. That means that drivers who do not have E-ZPass transponders may drive without stopping, and the state will capture video of the vehicles and send bills for the toll amount.
MTA officials said they are proactively treating water systems at the site, adding that they do not know how long employees will be kept from the site.
Maryland Department of Health (MDH) statistics show that there were 361 cases of Legionnaires’ disease in the state in 2018.
Maryland transit workers: difficult diagnosis
Legionnaires’ disease – also known as Legionellosis or Legionella pneumonia – is a severe type of pneumonia or lung infection. Data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that, on average, there are about 25,000 cases of pneumonia due to Legionella bacteria (scientific name: Legionella pneumophila) annually in the United States. Only about 5,000 cases are reported, however, because of the disease’s nonspecific symptoms, which at the outset usually include: