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One man is dead and 10 other people were sickened in a Legionnaire's disease outbreak in Lake County, officials said.

(File photo)

EASTLAKE, Ohio -- One person is dead and 10 more people were sickened in a Legionnaires' disease outbreak in Lake County, the county's health commissioner said Wednesday.

Lake County investigators, alongside officials with the Ohio Department of Health and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, believe the Legionella bacteria was likely spouted into the air from cooling towers at Consolidated Precision Products (CPP) in Eastlake, Lake County Health Commissioner Ron Graham said.

Three of the people who got the disease very likely contracted the bacteria from the plant, including the 54-year-old Cuyahoga County who died as a result of the disease in August, Graham said. All three patients worked either at CPP or directly-neighboring businesses, and they all contracted the disease during the summer months.

CPP fully cooperated with the investigation, thoroughly cleaning their cooling towers on Nov. 9, Graham said. No bacteria was found during the post-cleaning tests, the results of which were released Wednesday.

Only two of the other Legionnaires' disease cases can likely be linked to CPP. The additional six cases appear to be unrelated to the business, though a definitive link may never be made to bacteria found at CPP because none of the patients were not given blood tests that would reveal specific bacteria strains, Graham said.

All eight patients have since recovered.

Lake County health officials will continue to monitor for new cases, as well as look into local businesses with cooling towers so that further education about Legionella bacteria can be provided, Graham said.

Legionella bacteria is transmitted through the air or water, not through person-to-person contact. Not everyone exposed to the bacteria becomes sick, but those who do get Legionnaires' disease experience symptoms similar to a severe form of pneumonia.