CLEVELAND
(AP)--Health investigators are helping Ford Motor Co. pinpoint a
possible source of Legionnaires' disease in a casting plant shut
down after the company confirmed three cases of the illness.
Workers were
told Wednesday night to leave the plant in Brook Park, about 15
miles southwest of Cleveland. Two Legionnaires' disease victims
from the plant were hospitalized, and the third was still at home
Wednesday night after previously being diagnosed, Ford spokesman
Ed Miller said.
``Even though
the source of the disease is undetermined, we felt we had to act
quickly,'' Miller said.
Cuyahoga County
Health Commissioner Timothy Horgan said a cooling tower at the
plant may be the source of the disease.
An employee
who likely worked near the tower died Friday, apparently of pneumonia,
Horgan said. He said two subcontractors who have come down with
pneumonia symptoms were working on the cooling tower, and others
who became ill may have also worked in the area. It was unclear
whether those employees had Legionnaires' disease.
Symptoms from
Legionnaires' disease, first identified when an outbreak occurred
during the 1976 American Legion convention in Philadelphia, include
high fever, cough and shortness of breath. It is caused by bacteria
that can be inhaled when water is released into the air through
air conditioners, steam or other means.
The Ford plant,
which casts engine parts, has 2,500 employees. Miller did not
know when it might open again, but he said it likely would be
closed through the weekend as officials inspect and disinfect
the facility.
Staff from
the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were to
join the investigation Thursday.
``I just hope
I don't get it,'' said worker Donald Nolan. ``I've been here for
46 years and I've been breathing that dust and smoke and I'm still
breathing.''
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