The story broke last night, and details will be added when updates are issued on the people affected and the condition of the site itself, here are the details on the people affected:
Seven people are being treated for Legionnaires' disease; those affected are six men and a woman, aged between their
late 40s and 75, health officials said.
Two men in their 70s are described as "stable" and
the other patients are said to be "improving"
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) said all seven patients
were being treated at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire.
Prof Harsh Duggal, director of the Health Protection Unit in
Stafford, said: "While we do not currently have a direct link between the
cases, the evidence points to the fact that there is a common source.
"We are taking detailed histories of the movements of
the patients to see if there are similar patterns which would indicate a local
source of infection.
"Legionnaires' disease is a rare but potentially
life-threatening illness. It is caused by a bacteria commonly associated with
water systems and cannot be passed from person to person."
The HPA added it was also investigating two cases identified
in early summer as being possibly linked to the current cluster.
The agency is working with the Health and Safety Executive,
the NHS in Stoke and the city council to try to identify and control any possible
sources of the disease.
The seven cases are not hospital acquired, health officials
said.
Healthcare staff in the areas where the patients live have
been alerted to look out for symptoms.
Officials said early signs include flu-like symptoms, with
muscle aches, tiredness, headaches, dry cough and fever which can lead to
pneumonia.
Diarrhoea and confusion may occur, as well as chest and
breathing symptoms. The disease can be effectively treated with antibiotics.
There were 239 cases of the disease in England and Wales in
2011, including 23 in the West Midlands.
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