Michigan Governor Rick Snyder announced Thursday night that his office has requested President Obama declare an emergency and an expedited major disaster for Genesee County, due to the ongoing water crisis.
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There were at least 87 confirmed Legionnaires’ cases, including 10 deaths, from June 2014 to November 2015, compared to only 21 cases in 2012 and 2013.
Health department representatives have said that GeneseeCounty water is safe to bathe in, but the National Guard was called into Flint Wednesday morning to help distribute bottled water and water filters to mitigate further risk of lead poisoning cases.
Meanwhile, Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday that there’s been an increase in Legionnaires’ disease cases during periods over the past two years in Genesee County.
By DAVID CRARY AP National Writer Planned Parenthood filed a federal court lawsuit Thursday alleging extensive criminal misconduct by the anti-abortion activists who produced undercover videos…
State health officials say they can not confirm that the change in the water supply caused the spike, since some cases occurred among people who hadn’t been exposed to Flint’s water.
The naturally occurring bacteria legionella can cause a unsafe bacterial disease if it is inhaled.
There’s a key reason why officials know about Legionnaires’ in the Flint area: Doctors and hospitals must report cases to public health agencies.
“This problem is probably behind us”, he said on a Flint water study website. It was intended as a stop-gap measure until the completion of a pipeline to Port Huron Lake as the source for Flint’s water.
A Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in western IL last summer that killed 12 and sickened dozens was likely spread by an aging water system at a 129-year-old facility that lacked several safeguards, The Associated Press reported last month based on a federal report.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is consulting with state and local health officials about the Legionnaires’ cases.
Kurt Weiss said that Budget Director John Roberts expects to ask the legislature this month for an appropriation to help Flint with short-term costs related to the city’s lead-contaminated drinking water.
Snyder has requested support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in coordinating a recovery plan with other federal agencies that have the programs, authorities or technical expertise to help with Flint’s water crisis. FEMA has appointed a disaster recovery coordinator. The switch was eventually linked to elevated blood lead levels in some of the city’s youngest residents. In late December, he accepted the resignation of the state official whose agency, the Department of Environmental Quality, oversees water quality.
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“It is the state’s ultimate responsibility to act and make it right”.
