Hospital waits on Legionnaires' post-mortem results

Health officials are waiting on the results of a post-mortem examination on a woman who died from Legionnaires’ Disease.

An investigation was ordered to establish whether the 61-year-old contracted the illness while being treated at Waterford Regional Hospital, Co Waterford.

It is believed she may have caught it from water droplets in a shower in her private en-suite room.

The woman – named locally as Ena Kiely – was being treated at the hospital for a separate medical condition and was diagnosed with Legionnaires' last Monday.

She was treated for the condition but died on Sunday, the South Eastern Health Board said.

Officials said it was a “single, isolated case” and that nobody else was thought to have been infected.

“The immediate indications are that the infection was acquired in the hospital,” the South Eastern Health Board said in a statement.

Dr Mary Hickey, a consultant at the hospital, said the patient’s room had been closed off for investigations to take place.

Waterford Regional Hospital is one of the largest regional hospitals in the country with more than 400 beds.

Legionnaires’ disease is a bacterial condition that may cause pneumonia.

Early symptoms are flu-like, with muscle aches, tiredness, headaches, a dry cough and fever.

Bacteria responsible for the disease have been found in ponds, water systems and water in air conditioning units.