Seven people have died since the start of the outbreak of legionellosis in Lithuania's second-largest city of Kaunas and its district, Lithuania's National Public Health Centre (NVSC) said on Friday.
In four cases, the infected persons' official cause of death was another disease, and three deaths were caused by legionellosis, according to data provided by the LSMU Kaunas Hospital. On Friday, the hospital was notified of the death of a person aged between 71 and 80 years.
A total of 24 legionellosis cases have now been confirmed.
Legionellosis may result in a fatal form of pneumonia and is caused by exposure to the Legionella bacteria species found in contaminated water, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The outbreak in Garliava, Kaunas District, was recorded in late April.
Earlier this week, Kauno Vandenys, the local water company, told BNS none of the samples from 11 water reservoirs and pumping stations tested in Kaunas had been found to contain Legionella bacteria.
For its part, the NVSC said last week that out of 16 water samples taken from sick people's homes, nine were found to contain no Legionella, while two did but the levels were within the established norm.
Health Minister Arynas Dulkys said earlier the legionellosis outbreak in the city and district of Kaunas was linked to the cleaning of tanks at the Garliava water pumping station.
Kauno Vandenys, however, says it took water samples on its initiative from the water system in Garliava soon after the initial report about the outbreak. The company also points out that it's responsible for water supply "up to the inlet metre, and the company is not responsible for the quality of the internal pipeline network".
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