U.S.

Second Legionnaire's Death

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

March 16, 2001 / 4:01 PM EST / CBS

A second employee of a Ford Motor Co. casting plant has died of Legionnaires' disease.

David Hinderman, who had been hospitalized Tuesday, died Friday night of an infection secondary to Legionnaires' disease, according to Cleveland Clinic spokesman Mark Cohen. He said the family asked that no other information be released.

Donald Tafoya, 61, died March 9, and at least two other employees of the Cleveland Casting Plant have contracted the disease.

The plant has not been confirmed as the source of the outbreak, but it has been closed since Wednesday night while water samples were taken and areas were disinfected.

A cooling tower, a large tank of steam-producing water that is part of the plant's heating system, was identified as one possible source.

Overlooking Legionnaires'

Legionnaires' disease may kill up to 4,500 people a year, but no one knows for sure. Only one in five hospitals follows federal guidelines to test pneumonia patients for it.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collected water samples from the plant, said Dr. Beverly Blaney, a Ford industrial physician. She said it will take 10 days to determine if the bacteria found at the plant is the same strain that infected the workers.

Plant manager Tom Thieman said Ford plans to reopen the plant with the first shift Monday. The Brook Park plant, in a suburb just south of Cleveland, employs 2,500 workers who assemble engines and manufacture castings for engines.

Legionnaires' disease is a form of pneumonia caused by a water-borne bacteria often inhaled in contaminated vapor from air conditioners or steam. It does not spread from person to person and can be destroyed with simple bleach or even hot water.

Each year, there are hundreds of confirmed cases of Legionnaire's Disease. It was identified at a 1976 American Legion convention in Philadelphia.