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McLaren-Flint is shown in this Flint Journal file photo.

(Flint Journal file photo)

FLINT, MI -- State health officials say they've been blocked from receiving information about Legionella cases and access to McLaren-Flint hospital since April, according to a Michigan Court of Appeals complaint filed Thursday, Aug. 25.

The Department of Health and Human Services says in the complaint that it has been prevented from conducting a comprehensive investigation into Legionella at McLaren -- first by the hospital and then by three protective court orders that have allowed materials to be turned over to Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton's office and the county Health Department, but not DHHS.

Earlier this week, Gov. Rick Snyder urged DHHS to file Thursday's complaint, aimed at invalidating the Genesee County Circuit Court protective orders, claiming they have prevented the state from protecting the public health.

In January, McLaren confirmed that Legionella bacteria was found in the water supply at its Flint hospital location after the city changed its water source to the Flint River in 2014.

The DHHS complaint says the state has been unable to investigate 27 Legionella cases that were reported in 2015 from McLaren-Flint -- all of them involving patients who had been at the facility at some point during the two-week period before symptom onset.

"More urgently, the Circuit Court's orders also prevent DHHS from investigating three new legionella cases that have been reported from Genesee County during the past two weeks," the complaint says.

"On Aug. 12, 2016, DHHS received a notification on the automatic reporting database that a McLaren-Flint patient was diagnosed with Legionella," the complaint says. "Not only do the protective orders prevent DHHS from investigating this situation, but a (Genesee County Health Department) worker appears to have gone on the health reporting database and deleted the patient records accompanying this Legionella report."

MLive could not immediately reach county Health Officer Mark Valachak, Leyton or a representative of McLaren Friday, Aug. 26.

Leyton, who is part of the Michigan Attorney General's Office investigation into the Flint water crisis, McLaren and the county Health Department have "refused to provide Legionella data to DHHS" since June, stating that providing the material would violate" protective orders, the complaint says.

Before the Circuit Court orders, McLaren denied a similar request from DHHS "based on the ongoing litigation it is involved in," according to the Court of Appeals complaint.

A spokeswoman for Attorney General Bill Schuette has said the court orders sought by her office and Leyton are aimed at protecting health data related to lead poisoning and legionella deaths in Flint.

State health officials have said since January that they have been unable to prove or disprove that a Legionnaire's disease outbreak here, which caused 12 deaths in parts of 2014 and 2015, was related to Flint water.

Mark Valacak, the county health officer, told MLive earlier this week that Legionella information is still available to the state through an automated reporting system and said the county has been able to carry out Legionella investigations with help from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for several months.

In addition to the criminal investigation by Schuette and Leyton, the Legionnaires' cases at McLaren have led to a civil lawsuit filed by attorney Geoffrey Fieger.



In June, a Genesee County judge ruled the lawsuit, which says the hospital's water system led to the Legionnaire's cases, could move forward, despite claims from the hospital that it had no duty to inform patients of the outbreak.

Ron Fonger is a reporter for MLive. He can be reached at 810-347-9963 or rfonger1@mlive.com.