Central Regional Employee Diagnosed With Legionnaire's Disease

BERKELEY TOWNSHIP, NJ - A Central Regional Middle School employee has been diagnosed with Legionnaire's Disease, schools Superintendent Triantafillos Parlapanides said.

"We don't even know if the person caught it at Central Middle School or on vacation," Parlapanides said. "But we wish (them) a fast and healthy recovery."

He did not identify the name or the sex of the person.

Every part of the middle school is being tested to make certain the building is safe for students and employees when school opens on Wednesday, Sept. 5, Parlapanides said.

Legionnaires’ disease is a serious type of pneumonia caused by the Legionella bacteria, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control's website.

Outbreaks are commonly occur in buildings or structures with complex water systems, like hotels and resorts, long-term care facilities, hospitals, and cruise ships. The most likely sources of infection include water used for showering, hot tubs, decorative fountains, and cooling towers (structures that contain water and a fan as part of centralized air cooling systems for a building or industrial processes), the website states.

People can get sick when they breathe in mist or accidently inhale water into the lungs containing the bacteria. Most people who are exposed to the bacteria do not get sick. People 50 years or older, current or former smokers, and people with a weakened immune system or chronic disease are at increased risk.

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