'I just want to know how this happened': Wife of Legionnaires' disease patient speaks out
What started as a scratchy throat for Steve Moody quickly became a life‑threatening illness, his wife, Sarah Moody, said — and now a widening Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in Marshall County has turned deadly.
The state health and human services department confirms one person has died, and at least 21 cases have been confirmed. The person who died was an older adult with underlying health conditions, officials said.
After weeks of cold symptoms, Sarah Moody said her husband's condition worsened on Sunday.
“When I took him to urgent care on Sunday, he was not coherent. He could hardly stand up," she said.
On Monday, she said doctors at UnityPoint in Marshalltown diagnosed Steve Moody with Legionnaires’ disease — a severe form of pneumonia.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Legionnaires’ disease is caused by Legionella bacteria and typically spreads when people breathe in small droplets of water or soil that contain the bacteria. People with lung disease or weakened immune systems face a higher risk.
“For the big outbreaks, the source tends to be contaminated water,” said Dr. Jonathan Crosbie, a communicable disease expert at Des Moines University.
On Thursday, county and state health departments confirmed one person died and an outbreak in Marshall County.
Marshalltown Water Works said it tested the city’s drinking water for 30 pathogens it monitors and reported that those results came back negative. Health officials said they are still working to identify the source.
Sarah Moody said her husbands condition has stabled, thanks to the hospitals care. However, the uncertainty clouding the outbreaks cause has left Moody with questions.
“Why does he have it, and I don't? We're retired together. We drink the same water. We plant the same flowers in the same dirt. He doesn’t go in stores, I'm the one that goes in," Sarah said. “I just want to know how this happened — and so it doesn’t happen again.”
Health officials urge anyone with symptoms such as cough, fever, shortness of breath, muscle aches, or headache — especially older adults and those with underlying conditions — to seek medical care promptly.
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