(PEOPLE) -- Four people have now died from a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak that has been traced back to a hot tub display at a North Carolina state fair.
As of Oct. 18, there are 141 confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ disease and four deaths that began at the NC Mountain State Fair, which was held between Sept. 6-15 in the western part of the state. Experts believe the disease, a potentially deadly form of pneumonia that spreads when people breathe in the bacteria from mist or water drippings, originated from a display of hot tubs in one section of the fair.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said Friday that they have tested six water samples from Davis Event Center, where the hot tubs were on display, and found that one of the samples was positive for Legionella pneumophila. However, they say that they did not collect the samples until 12 to 22 days after the fair ended, and the samples “might not represent conditions during the fair,” therefore, “testing is still ongoing.”
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