City battles to find source of legionnaires' disease

Eric Luskie said he felt "like nothing on earth" when he left hospital. Photo / Simon Baker

Eric Luskie loses his breath after walking only a few steps. But he is one of the lucky ones.

The 80-year-old former soldier is slowly recovering after being caught in a disease outbreak that has claimed three lives in Christchurch since June. Twenty people have been diagnosed with the same strain of legionnaires' disease and health authorities are struggling to explain it.

The debilitating lung disease strikes sick and elderly people the hardest and recovery can take weeks.

Mr Luskie already suffered from a heart condition and other health problems, and the legionnaires' disease hit him hard.

"I felt very lethargic. I would walk a few metres and I would have to find something to hang on to. So I spend a lot of time sitting and reading books and that sort of thing. I'm feeling a lot better now."

Christchurch would normally only have five or six cases of legionnaires' disease in a year.

Authorities believe the outbreak may have a source in air-conditioning cooling towers in the city which, if not properly maintained, can provide an ideal breeding ground for the disease.

They had urged building owners to check and clean about 130 towers in the city, but admitted it may not stop the outbreak.

There was no common building, event or function to link the people infected, but most lived in Christchurch's western suburbs.

"One of the things we decided is we could do nothing and count more cases as they came in or we could just put out a general request for everyone to treat their [cooling] towers," Canterbury medical officer of health, Dr Mel Brieseman, said. Cooling tower tests had so far provided no evidence of the killer bacteria.

"From what we have got, everything possible is being done at the moment. If we get information something else is involved it will be handled appropriately," Dr Brieseman said.

Mr Luskie is convinced he contracted the disease in Christchurch Hospital in April when he was being treated for other health problems.

Several other people with the disease had also spent time in the hospital, but it had been ruled out as a source. The hospital had been monitoring its building using the Canterbury District Health Board's laboratory. The building has been checked by staff, independent auditors and Environment Canterbury.

Asked if the outbreak could claim more victims or spread beyond Christchurch, Dr Brieseman said it was impossible to say.

Mr Luskie said his home had been thoroughly checked and had got a "clean bill of health".

"If you go into hospital with a broken leg, you don't expect to come out with a broken arm. I felt like nothing on earth when I came out."

When he was told by his doctor he had legionnaires' disease, he did not even know what it was. His son asked him when he had started going out with legionnaires.

Mr Luskie has had to add antibiotics to a cocktail of drugs to treat his heart problems, epilepsy and other problems. He said it was only this week he had got through a night without violent coughing fits.

The disease

* Legionnaires' disease, or legionellosis, is a form of pneumonia caused by a bacteria called legionella which exists in soil and water.

* The disease is spread through airborne droplets.

* New Zealand usually has about 80 cases of legionnaires' disease each year. About 5 per cent of people die from it.

* People aged over 50 who have other health problems are most at risk of contracting the disease. The disease is treated with antibiotics.

* It can best be avoided by heating household water above 60C, properly maintaining ventilation and water systems and being careful around potting mix and compost.