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Legionnaires' Bacteria Found In VA Ice Machine

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
Wikimedia Commons
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The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

A  small amount of the bacteria that causes Legionnaires' disease was found in an ice machine at the C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center, the Tampa Bay Times reports. The ice machine was in the same building where a pneumonia patient who tested positive for the bacteria died on Feb. 20. Several samples were taken in various parts of the hospital to test for the bacteria and 11 other samples were negative, with one other pending, the Times reports. The VA has not said the patient with pneumonia had contracted Legionnaires' disease. 

Originally founded in December 2006 as an independent grassroots publication dedicated to coverage of health issues in Florida, Health News Florida was acquired by WUSF Public Media in September 2012.