CLOSED FOR PUBLIC SAFETY - Tyler Texas City officials have decided to close the Harvey Convention Center as precautionary decision for public health in the wake of recent reports of illness attributed Legionnaire’s disease in Northeast Texas. According to a report in the Tyler Morning Telegraph – One death along with seven confirmed cases of Legionnaires' disease have been reported and possibly contracted by people who visited the Harvey Convention Center during the East Texas State Fair.
The article states the closure was not a recommendation from the regional health department NorthEast Texas Health. However, with holiday shows coming up, city officials say they are taking the steps to make sure the public will be safe. The Legionnaire’s cases were reported to NET Health in October, last month I spoke with NET Health epidemiologist Jason GesLois who explained how Legionnaire’s disease is transmitted.
"It's a bacteria that is spread through inhalation of water droplets of aerosolized water so you breathe it in into your lungs so that is how you become sick," explained Geslois. "It's not one that can be transmitted from person to person, so you're exposed to the source of contaminated water it's aerosolized, you breathe it in, it goes into your lungs and you become sick."
NET Health has been testing the water inside the Harvey Center and has revealed appropriate chlorine levels were present in samples collected which will be sent to Centers for Disease Control for further testing. The city has a professional cleaning company coming in next week to clean the entire interior, plumbing and check all pipes and vents and hopes to reopen the center by December.
