Two test positive for Legionnaires' disease
Two more people tonight tested positive for Legionnaires’ disease bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 123.
As the figure continued to rise, police named the second person to die from the pneumonia-like condition, as Wendy Millburn, a 56-year-old mother-of-two and grandmother from Latona Street, Walney, Barrow-in-Furness.
The outbreak is now the worst in Britain for 10 years and more people are expected to test positive for the bacteria over the weekend, said a spokesman for Morecambe Bay Hospital NHS Trust.
In a statement released by Cumbria Police, Mrs Millburn’s family said: “She was a smashing wife and mother and she adored her grandchildren. She knew many people and got on well with them all – everybody loved her.
“We would particularly like to thank all the medical staff at Barrow-in-Furness General Hospital who cared for her since she was admitted last Saturday, they were marvellous.”
Mrs Millburn, a former school cook, leaves a husband, Douglas, two children, Mandy, 33, and Paul, 31, and two grandchildren.
The first victim of the outbreak was 88-year-old great-grandfather, Richard Macaulay, who died last Friday.
Meanwhile, a 30-year-old newlywed was awaiting tests which would show if she had contracted the disease while on honeymoon in the coastal town.
Kirsty-Ann Smith, from Rochester, Kent, was admitted to hospital on Tuesday after developing symptoms of the disease.
She and her new husband Jonathan had spent most of their honeymoon in the Lake District but stopped in Barrow for one day to visit a zoo.
Only when they arrived home last Friday did Mrs Smith begin to develop some of the possible symptoms of the disease and was admitted to Medway Maritime Hospital in Kent where she has undergone tests.
Hospital officials were saying it was “very unlikely” she has the disease but added that the test results would not be available until next week.
In total 1,709 people have now been screened for the infection and those patients showing clinical symptoms of the bug but who are not yet confirmed cases has dropped by nearly half to 23.
Thirteen people are still being treated in intensive care and seven are classed as high dependency, three of which are giving cause for concern.
A Trust spokesman added that Furness General Hospital was still seeing a reduction in the number of new cases of suspected Legionnaires’ disease and after a week of dealing with patients affected by the outbreak things appeared to be stabilising.
Chief Executive Ian Cumming said: “For the first time in over eight days, new admissions through A & E at Furness General Hospital are approaching normal.
“I am optimistic that the number of new Legionnaire cases presenting at the hospital from now onwards will be very small.
“We will however see a further small increase in the number of positive tests over the next few days as results continue to come back from the laboratory for patients already in hospital.”
He added that the condition of most of the inpatients was now improving and 55 patients, who were confirmed as having the bug, had now been discharged from the hospital.
Seventy patients remain in hospital, some of whom were still very poorly, Mr Cumming added.
Nineteen people who were suspected to have the infection have not yet been admitted to hospital.
A 30-year-old air-conditioning system at the council-run Forum 28 arts centre was closed down last Thursday after being blamed as the source of the outbreak.
Tests on the system found traces of the legionnella bacteria, which causes the disease, in the water treatment plant.
