Third person dies in Legionnaires' disease outbreak in Spain

A third person died over the weekend as the result of an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in a small Spanish town.

It was confirmed on Monday that a 94-year-old man, who had been in hospital since Dec. 26, was the third victim of the outbreak to have struck the town of Manzanares, which is in the region of Castile-La Mancha, south of Madrid.

The outbreak, which began in December, has so far affected a total of 235 people of whom 10 remain in hospital, although health authorities are confident that it has now been brought under control with only one new case being discovered in the past 48 hours.

Meanwhile, tests carried out at the University of Valencia have found that the source of the outbreak could be the ornamental fountain which is located at the bus station in Manzanames.

At least two strains of Legionella bacteria were present in the fountain and these appear to also be present in the victims. Investigations are ongoing. Endit