GM’s Engineering Center Closed Over Legionnaires’ Disease Cases

(Bloomberg) -- General Motors Co.’s Cole Engineering Center north of Detroit will be closed until at least Sept. 22 after two employees tested positive for Legionnaires’ disease, temporarily idling the site where about 10,000 people work on future vehicles and technologies.

GM shut down the facility in Warren, Michigan, on Sept. 10. Regular bacteria testing hasn’t found any issues, and the facility hasn’t been confirmed as the source of the infections, the company said in a statement.

“GM was notified late Wednesday, Sept. 10 by the Macomb County Health Department that two Cole residents had tested positive for Legionnaires’ disease,” GM said. “Out of an abundance of caution, GM took immediate action to close the building and has ordered comprehensive third-party testing for the site.”

GM hasn’t shut down other buildings on its 710-acre campus. The company has commissioned third-party testing of the ventilation and water systems at the Cole center, a spokeswoman said.

Legionnaires’ is a severe form of pneumonia that can lead to lung failure and death. Healthy people typically don’t fall ill after breathing in the bacteria, but older people with specific health conditions or current and former smokers are most at risk, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

About one in 10 infections result in death, but most infections can be treated with an antibiotic.

The disease comes from inhaling water vapor that contains the bacteria. Properly disinfecting cooling towers, hot tubs, fountains and humidifiers can prevent the Legionella bacteria’s growth, the CDC says.

Recently, an outbreak in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood infected more than 110 people and caused seven deaths. The city proposed new testing regulations after the investigation into the outbreak was closed.

The two cases at GM follow others that were discovered in August at a nursing home in Dearborn, Michigan, earlier this summer.

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