Legionnaires' disease scare at Alderney Manor may have 5th case

A potential fifth case of legionnaires' disease is being investigated at an apartment building in Dartmouth.

Yesterday, the Nova Scotia Health Authority said one person had tested positive for legionella bacteria and three other people with symptoms were being treated in hospital.

Nova Scotia's Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Gaynor Watson-Creed, says crews are at Alderney Manor — a 200-unit building located at 1 Alderney Dr. — trying to find the sources of the bacteria.

Since legionella lives in water and is contracted by breathing in water mist, Watson-Creed says tenants have been told to keep certain appliances off.

"Shower heads, air conditioning units, maybe humidifiers in the unit. So, we've asked people to turn those things off if they can. Those people who prefer to shower we've asked to bathe, if they can instead," she said.

Symptoms include fever, chills, muscle aches and diarrhea. It's more common among older people and in 15 per cent of cases, it can be fatal.

Tenant Jon Bernnan says he's not afraid, though others are.

"Some — they won't come out of their apartment for a week now, because they're afraid they'll catch something,' he said.

For tenants Randy Veinot and Nancy McLean, the news was shocking. 

'It is terrible'

They said they've been feeling sick all summer and fear this could be the reason why. 

"My stomach hasn't felt good in months. It's been upset and now to find this out — it is terrible," McLean said. 

Provincial officials say there are usually two or three cases of legionnaires' each year in Nova Scotia. If more tests come back positive, it could signal an outbreak, but provincial officials say even without those results — which could take a few weeks — they are already treating the situation like an outbreak as a precaution.​