FLINT, MI - Health officials say they are still unable to conclude what led to a deadly outbreak of Legionnaires' Disease in the Flint area.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services released a new report Thursday, Jan. 21, that claimed state investigators were unable to "determine a conclusive environmental source" of the outbreak.
"Our department, along with experts in the field, remain proactive in addressing the potential for future cases," MDHHS spokeswoman Jennifer Eisner said.
Gov. Rick Snyder and state Health and Human Services Department officials said Wednesday, Jan. 13, that the Flint area experienced a spike in Legionnaires' beginning in summer 2014 that left 10 dead and 77 others sick in 18 months.
The outbreak began just weeks after the city stopped using treated water from Detroit and began using the Flint River as the source of its drinking water, a change made by a Snyder-appointed emergency manager.
State health officials investigated a possible link between the city's water supply and the outbreak, but they have not concluded if there is a relationship between the two situations
"MDHHS cannot conclude that the increase is related to the water switch in Flint nor can we rule out a possible association at this time," a Thursday statement from the state health agency said.
Investigators are still trying to determine the source of the outbreak.
The new report issued Thursday reviewed 42 Legionnaires' cases reported in the Flint area between May and Oct. 2015. Four deaths associated with the disease were included in the study.
"While cases of Legionnaires disease are not expected in the winter, we remain fully engaged with the Genesee County Health Department as well as our federal partners at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to protect the health of Flint residents," Eden Wells, M.D., Chief Medical Executive with the MDHHS said in a statement. "We remain diligent in our efforts to proactively and appropriately address the potential for future cases."
This is the second report the agency has released on the outbreak.
The first report, compiled in June 2015 but not released to the public until Jan. 13, showed 45 Legionnaire's cases were reported in the Flint area between June 2014 and March 2015.
Initially, state officials reported that 10 people had died from the outbreak, but that number was changed to nine in the newest study.
The MDHHS said Legionnaires' deaths are defined as fatalities that occurred within 30 days of the hospital discharge. The total number of associated fatalities were changed because some cases occurred outside of the 30 day period.
Officials with Snyder's office could not immediately be reached for comment on the study.
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