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BUT THEIR IDENTITIES HAVE NOT BEEN RELEASED. STATE AND MARSHALL COUNTY HEALTH OFFICIALS SAY THEY ARE GETTING CLOSER TO DETERMINING THE SOURCES OF THE LEGIONNAIRES OUTBREAK IN MARSHALL COUNTY. IOWA STATE EPIDEMIOLOGIST SHARED THIS AND MORE AT TODAY’S MARSHALL COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETING. ����vlog KAYLA JAMES LISTENED IN. SHE JOINS US NOW. KAYLA, NOT ONLY ARE THEY LOOKING AT A POTENTIAL SOURCE, BUT THEY’RE ALSO TAKING ACTION. THAT’S CORRECT. AND ACCORDING TO THE STATE EPIDEMIOLOGIST, THEY’VE BEEN DOING SO FOR A FEW DAYS NOW. HE SAYS WHILE THEY DON’T HAVE INDISPUTABLE EVIDENCE. THEIR INVESTIGATION LEADS THEM TO BELIEVE COOLING TOWERS COULD BE THE SOURCE OF THE OUTBREAK. WE’VE LIKELY FOUND ALL OF THEM, ALTHOUGH WE’RE STILL LOOKING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVEN’T MISSED ONE, ALL OF THEM BEING SOME COOLING TOWERS THAT STATE AND MARSHALL COUNTY HEALTH EXPERTS BELIEVE ONE COULD BE A SOURCE BECAUSE OF HOW WIDE IT APPEARS TO BE SPREAD. BECAUSE OF THE CALLS WE’VE MADE TO PATIENTS SO FAR, THAT SEEMS LIKE THE MOST LIKELY ANSWER. AND WE KNOW THAT SOME OUTBREAKS IN THE PAST HAVE OCCURRED FROM LEGIONELLA THAT MULTIPLIED TO HIGH LEVELS IN COOLING TOWERS, AND THEN THAT WATER EVAPORATED AND IT SPREAD IN A SMALL AREA. THE MARSHALL COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR SAYS. BY THE END OF WEDNESDAY, SHE’LL HAVE TESTED TEN COOLING TOWERS OF BUSINESSES IN THE NORTH CENTRAL PART OF MARSHALLTOWN. FOR EACH OF THOSE COOLING TOWERS THAT WE THINK COULD BE THE REASON WHY LEGIONELLA SPREADING. WE’RE ASKING THEM TO DISINFECT THE WHOLE THING. IOWA STATE EPIDEMIOLOGIST MATTHEW DONAHUE SAYS DISINFECTING THEM SHOULD KILL THE LEGIONELLA AND DECREASE THE RISK OF SPREAD. WE’RE NOT SEEING NEW CASES POP UP AFTER 14 DAYS. THEN WE THINK THE OUTBREAK HAS NOW BEEN BROUGHT UNDER CONTROL, AND WE MIGHT HAVE DISINFECTED THE RIGHT TOWER. AS OF WEDNESDAY, THERE HAVE BEEN 34 CASES IN MARSHALLTOWN AND ONE DEATH. DONAHUE SAYS THE FIRST CASES WERE REPORTED ON AUGUST 24TH, AND AN INTENSIVE INVESTIGATION BEGAN THE NEXT WEEK. WHEN WE HAVE A LAB REPORT THAT COMES INTO US, WE CALL THAT PATIENT. WE FIGURE OUT WHERE ALL HAVE YOU BEEN? WHERE MIGHT YOU HAVE PICKED THIS UP? PART OF THAT INVESTIGATION ALSO INVOLVED THE COUNTY AND STATE HEALTH DEPARTMENTS REACHING OUT TO AREA HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS. WE HAVE ANTIBIOTICS THAT WORK REALLY WELL TO GET RID OF IT. AND THOSE ANTIBIOTICS WORK WELL THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE TIME WHEN SOMEONE HAS A LEGIONELLA PNEUMONIA, DONAHUE SAYS, THEY’VE ESSENTIALLY RULED OUT OTHER SOURCES. IT DOESN’T LOOK LIKE THIS IS COMING FROM A HOTEL. IT DOESN’T LOOK LIKE IT’S COMING FROM A WATER FOUNTAIN. THE COUNTY AND STATE HEALTH DEPARTMENTS ARE ASKING PEOPLE TO STAY VIGILANT OF THEIR OWN HEALTH. YOU HAVE A COUGH AND FEVER, SHORTNESS OF BREATH. YOU THINK YOU MIGHT HAVE A RESPIRATORY INFECTION OR PNEUMONIA TO TALK TO YOUR DOC AND TELL THEM ABOUT LEGIONELLA TO AVOID AN OUTBREAK GOING FORWARD, BUSINESSES IN MARSHALLTOWN ARE BEING URGED TO HAVE A WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN TO MAKE SURE THEIR COOLING TOWERS ARE DISINFECTED PROPERLY. NOW, DOCTOR DONAHUE ALSO EMPHASIZED TODAY THERE IS NO PERSON TO PERSON TRANSMISSION OF LEGIONELLA. IT TAKES 2 TO 14 DAYS FROM BEING EXPOSED TO SOMEONE GETTING SICK. AND HE SAYS PEOPLE ARE EXPOSED TO LEGIONELLA EVERY DAY AND IT’S ONLY AN LUCKY FEW WHO REALLY GET SICK. BEN. ALL RIGHT. KAYLA. THANK YOU. AND AS STATE AND COUNTY LEADERS WORK TO LEARN MORE, WE’LL OF COURSE, BE SHARING THOSE UPDATES WITH YOU. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE BREAKING NEWS ALERTS TURNED ON IN THE KCC