Two Michiganders Get Legionnaires Disease From Co. Buildings

Two people from Michigan have contacted Legionnaires disease from Oakland County buildings that staff around 5,300 county employees.

Legionnaires Disease

Legionnaires' disease is a severe, often fatal form of pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria, which thrive in warm water systems like cooling towers, hot tubs, and plumbing.

Legionnaires disease is contracted by breathing in contaminated mist, not through person-to-person spread. Symptoms include high fever, cough, and pneumonia, requiring immediate antibiotics.

Symptoms typically appear 2 to 14 days after exposure, but can be deadly for those over 50, current/former smokers, and people with weakened immune systems or chronic lung diseases are at higher risk

Read More: Michigan Nurse Imposter Gets Over 6 Years

Investigation Underway After Legionnaires Cases In Co. Buildings

According to WXYZ, Legionella bacteria has been detected in the water systems of several Oakland County, Michigan, government buildings, including the North Oakland Health Center, the Resource and Crisis Center, the Oakland County Circuit building, and the Oakland County Sheriff's Office headquarters.

So far a custodial employee was diagnosed with Legionnaires disease, and a non-employee who visited the Oakland County Circuit Court building.

Apparently, there was no official plan in place to regularly monitor the water system that supplies 45 Oakland County buildings. Steps have been put into place to monitor water, install filters, flush systems, and schedule follow-up testing

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The Oakland County Jail has showers and cooling towers and testing began there on January 27, 2026.

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