{"id":94377,"date":"2025-12-24T01:16:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T01:16:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/94377\/"},"modified":"2025-12-24T01:16:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T01:16:08","slug":"100-confirmed-legionnaires-disease-cases-in-orange-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/94377\/","title":{"rendered":"100 Confirmed Legionnaires\u2019 Disease Cases In Orange County"},"content":{"rendered":"

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. \u2014 Amid an increase in Legionnaires\u2019 disease, legionella bacteria has been detected in the drinking water system of the Federal Courthouse in Orlando. <\/p>\n

Signs posted near bathrooms and water fountains on nearly every level of the George C. Young Federal Annex Courthouse in downtown warn employees of potential risks.<\/p>\n

The warning signs are displayed in both English and Spanish, advising that \u201cNormal use of the water may continue, however, individuals in higher-risk groups may consider alternate methods of hygiene like filling sinks slowly to reduce mist, or temporarily avoiding showers at the facility.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is to mitigate exposure risks to the Legionella bacteria, which causes Legionnaire\u2019s disease, a severe form of pneumonia.<\/p>\n

The signs direct courthouse employees to the CDC for more information on Legionnaires\u2019 disease<\/a> which primarily spreads through aerosolized droplets and is generally not transmitted person-to-person. <\/p>\n

According to state data, there have been 100 confirmed cases of Legionnaires\u2019 disease, or the milder flu-like illness called Pontiac Fever also caused by the Legionella bacteria.<\/p>\n

State data shows 84 out of the 100 Legionellosis cases in Orange County originated in Florida.<\/p>\n

Dr. Nelson Medina, a board-certified doctor in pulmonary medicine and critical care, explained that while the disease can be treated with antibiotics, those with chronic lung conditions should be particularly cautious.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to be on the lookout,\u201d he said, underscoring the importance of vigilance in identifying pneumonia-like symptoms and testing for the disease. <\/p>\n

According to the CDC, most people who get sick need care in a hospital but make a full recovery, with about 1out of 10 people who get Legionnaires\u2019 disease dying from the infection.<\/p>\n

The General Services Administration, responsible for overseeing courthouse facilities, has not provided any information regarding whether any employees have fallen ill due to the bacteria found in the water. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Florida Department of Health in Orange County also failed to respond to Channel 9s repeated phone and email inquiries, as the county records a surge in cases compared to other areas in Central Florida.<\/p>\n

Channel 9 told you earlier this month, the Orange County Health Department was investigating possible Legionnaires\u2019 Disease cases in Ocoee.<\/a><\/p>\n

We asked Florida DOH then, if other facilities were being investigated by the agency, but a Florida DOH spokesperson says information gathered in epidemiological investigations is confidential.<\/p>\n

So far this year, Orange County has had more than triple the number of confirmed cases as the rest of Central Florida. <\/p>\n

You can see the county breakdown below. <\/p>\n

Confirmed cases of Legionellosis: <\/p>\n

Brevard,25Lake,30Orange,100Osceola,29Seminole,17Volusia, 20<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here<\/a> to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

TOP STORIES FROM WFTV CHANNEL 9<\/p>\n

\u00a92025 Cox Media Group<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. \u2014 Amid an increase in Legionnaires\u2019 disease, legionella bacteria has been detected in the drinking…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":94378,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[50305,50306,50307,50308,50309,50310,50311,575,14820,50312,5078,50313,50314,13781,33723,50315,50316,50317,50318,50319,50320,139,141,140,6035,17199,7352,554,50321,50322],"class_list":["post-94377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-analyzing","tag-bacterium","tag-biology","tag-centers-for-disease-control-and-prevention","tag-cold-and-flu","tag-diarrhea","tag-fever","tag-food","tag-healthcare-and-medicine","tag-hematology","tag-hospital","tag-human-lung","tag-hygiene","tag-illness","tag-immunology","tag-laboratory","tag-legionella-pneumophila","tag-medical-exam","tag-medical-test","tag-micro-organism","tag-microbiology","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-patient","tag-pneumonia","tag-research","tag-science","tag-scientific-experiment","tag-serology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94377\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/94378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}