FLINT, Mich. (AP) - (03/01/16) - A group led by Wayne State University researchers plans to evaluate possible links between changes in Flint's water system and public health.

The Flint Area Community Health and Environment Partnership will focus on a Legionnaires' disease outbreak that killed 9 people in the Flint area and sickened at others. As part of the effort, researchers plan to set up enhanced disease and environmental surveillance in the Flint area.

Researchers from Flint's Kettering University and Detroit's Henry Ford Hospital are among those involved.

The surge in Legionnaires' cases came after Flint's 2014 switch to the Flint River from Detroit's water system to save money. River water caused lead to leach from old pipes into Flint homes and businesses. Tests later showed high lead levels in some Flint children.

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Online:

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