What You Need to Know
The New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) is seeing an increase in the number of Legionnaires’ disease cases being reported in a geographic area which borders Passaic County and Bergen County.
Healthcare providers are being asked to have a high index of suspicion for Legionella when evaluating patients for community-acquired and healthcare-associated pneumonia, particularly if SARS-CoV-2 testing is negative.
NJDOH is requesting that lower respiratory specimens are collected and held for patients who test positive for Legionella by a urinary antigen test and who reside/work in or visited Passaic County or Bergen County.
All suspected or confirmed cases of legionellosis (Legionnaires’ disease and Pontiac fever) should be promptly reported to the local health department where the patient resides. If the patient residence is unknown, report to your own local health department. Contact information is available at: localhealth.nj.gov.