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Flint's bad news gets worse. The latest:
The state announced Wednesday that it has seen a spike in Legionnaires' disease since Flint switched its water source. But officials say they don't know if the increase is a result of chemical-tainted water, the Detroit Free Press reports.
Eighty-seven cases arose from June 2014 to last November, 10 of which were fatal, Daniel Bethencourt writes. The area normally sees a handful of yearly cases.
Dr. Eden Wells, chief medical executive with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, promises a more detailed analysis
Legionnaires' disease is a severe form of pneumonia — lung inflammation usually caused by infection. It comes from bacterium known as legionella. People can't contract the disease from others, but rather from breathing in bacteria.
Professor Marc Edwards of Virginia Tech, the first expert to sound 2014 warnings of about elevated lead in Flint water last year, tells Ron Fonger of MLive: "It's not unexpected that the lack of corrosion control could have triggered that."
"Legionella likes water that has little or no chlorine and has high iron," Edwards said today. "Both those factors would contribute to the growth in Legionella."
Gov. Rick Snyder says he learned of the cases only “a few days ago," the Freep reports, and says the news “just adds to the disaster we are already facing.”