Two more tested for legionnaire's

Two more people in a small community east of Auckland are being tested to see if they have legionnaire's disease.

Health officials yesterday confirmed that one man died and another is recovering from legionnaire's disease in Beachlands.

Dr Craig Thornley, a medical officer of health for the Auckland Regional Public Health Service, said it could be two weeks before tests on the other two people confirmed if they had the disease.

"They are not confirmed cases at all, but we do want to make sure just what the situation is with these two," he said.

One person came to the health service's attention a couple of weeks ago but the other was more recent, Dr Thornley said.

The legionella bacteria was confirmed on March 17 in water supplies to the homes of the elderly man who died, his next door neighbour and the sick man across the street.

With no reticulated water supply in Beachlands, all of the households rely on their own collection.

Auckland Regional Public Health is holding a meeting on Monday night at the Te Puru Park Community Hall in Beachlands for residents to ask questions about the disease.

Manukau Mayor Sir Barry Curtis was distressed to hear of the outbreak.

"I am assured that although legionella bacteria may be found in other roof-collected water systems, the risk this could cause illness appears small," he said yesterday.

- NZPA