The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is reporting a roughly 50% rise in the number of Legionnaires’ cases statewide last year.
The disease is a serious type of pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria that thrive in moist, wet environments between 77 and 113 degrees. Places like hot tubs, water fountains and misting devices.
People get sick, and are sometimes hospitalized, when they breathe in mist or vapor that’s been contaminated with the bacteria. Most at risk are smokers, people over 50, and those with chronic lung disease or compromised immune systems.
As cases increased from 201 in 2024 to 310 last year, DHHS officials are raising awareness about the disease. Dr. Erica Wilson, the medical director of the medical consultation unit in the Division of Public Health, shared some basic precautions residents can take.
"To prevent it, you need to keep things flushed, so your faucets, showers, garden hoses," she says. "Keep your hot water heater above the temperature where it likes to grow, so that you don't get growth in the hot water heater. Taking special care if you have medical devices like a CPAP machine."
If the manufacturer calls for cleaning with distilled water, don’t use tap. And in your car, she says be sure not to water down the windshield wiper fluid, which can easily blow inside your vehicle when windows are open.