A longtime employee at the Pittsburgh VA Medical Center was hospitalized with Legionnaires’ disease, according to his daughter. “I honestly didn’t even think that he was going to live to see this week — it was that bad,” Ashley Jones told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 Reporter Jordan Cioppa. Jones said her father, Marvin Jones, was on a ventilator in the intensive care unit at UPMC East on Thursday. According to Jones, the 68-year-old Army veteran was in a medically induced coma. Jones has been by her father’s side every day since he went to the emergency room last Tuesday. “It is mentally exhausting, physically exhausting,” Jones said. Jones said her father has diabetes but was otherwise healthy. “This hospital stay has led to him getting dialysis every other day,” Jones said.On Tuesday, one week after he was admitted, Jones received answers from doctors on her father’s condition. She said the fluid in his lung tested positive for Legionella, which she said led to a Legionnaires’ disease diagnosis. “Legionnaires’ disease is a bacterial infection. Thousands of cases occur every year in the United States,” Dr. Amesh Adalja told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4. According to Adalja, a Pittsburgh-based infectious disease physician, people are exposed to the bacteria through water. He said the disease does not spread from person to person. “It’s an environmental bacteria that people inhale, and in certain cases, it can cause pneumonia, which is what we kind of refer to when we’re talking about Legionnaires’ disease and pneumonia. That can be quite severe, but is treatable with antibiotics,” the doctor said. In May, officials at the Pittsburgh VA Medical Center in Oakland confirmed that two patients tested positive for Legionella. Jones said her dad worked in environmental services at the medical center up until his hospitalization. “He doesn’t go anywhere else besides food, shopping and work,” Jones said. While the VA said last month that the water lines were treated, flushed, and tested – Jones said she believes her dad contracted the illness at work. “They should be held accountable to some extent because again, my dad has been in the ICU fighting for his life for the last 10 days,” Jones said. Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 was waiting to hear back from the VA with more information. In 2011, at least six Pittsburgh VA patients died of Legionnaires’ disease, and more than 20 patients were sickened.

PITTSBURGH —

A longtime employee at the Pittsburgh VA Medical Center was hospitalized with Legionnaires’ disease, according to his daughter.

“I honestly didn’t even think that he was going to live to see this week — it was that bad,” Ashley Jones told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 Reporter Jordan Cioppa.

Jones said her father, Marvin Jones, was on a ventilator in the intensive care unit at UPMC East on Thursday. According to Jones, the 68-year-old Army veteran was in a medically induced coma.

Jones has been by her father’s side every day since he went to the emergency room last Tuesday.

“It is mentally exhausting, physically exhausting,” Jones said.

Jones said her father has diabetes but was otherwise healthy.

“This hospital stay has led to him getting dialysis every other day,” Jones said.

On Tuesday, one week after he was admitted, Jones received answers from doctors on her father’s condition. She said the fluid in his lung tested positive for Legionella, which she said led to a Legionnaires’ disease diagnosis.

“Legionnaires’ disease is a bacterial infection. Thousands of cases occur every year in the United States,” Dr. Amesh Adalja told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4.

According to Adalja, a Pittsburgh-based infectious disease physician, people are exposed to the bacteria through water. He said the disease does not spread from person to person.

“It’s an environmental bacteria that people inhale, and in certain cases, it can cause pneumonia, which is what we kind of refer to when we’re talking about Legionnaires’ disease and pneumonia. That can be quite severe, but is treatable with antibiotics,” the doctor said.

In May, officials at the Pittsburgh VA Medical Center in Oakland confirmed that two patients tested positive for Legionella.

Jones said her dad worked in environmental services at the medical center up until his hospitalization.

“He doesn’t go anywhere else besides food, shopping and work,” Jones said.

While the VA said last month that the water lines were treated, flushed, and tested – Jones said she believes her dad contracted the illness at work.

“They should be held accountable to some extent because again, my dad has been in the ICU fighting for his life for the last 10 days,” Jones said.

Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 was waiting to hear back from the VA with more information.

In 2011, at least six Pittsburgh VA patients died of Legionnaires’ disease, and more than 20 patients were sickened.