Two workers at Stellantis’ Warren Truck Assembly Plant in Macomb County have been diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease.
Details about their conditions and how they contracted the bacterial disease were not immediately clear.
Ann Marie Fortunate, a spokeswoman for Stellantis, which owns the Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Maserati brands, provided a company statement Wednesday:
“Stellantis has been notified that two employees at the Warren Truck Assembly Plant have been diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease. At this time, it has not been determined where the employees may have come in contact with the bacteria. However, out of an abundance of caution for the safety and welfare of our employees, we have mobilized a team to begin testing water sources, and are following appropriate and established protocols at the plant. As part of our thorough investigation, we will contact and cooperate with all proper agencies as necessary.”
Fortunate said the company doesn’t have additional information to share beyond what is in the statement, including whether there has been any change in production at the plant.
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More than 3,500 people work at the plant just north of Detroit that produces the older version of the Ram 1500 pickup and the high-end Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer.
The Free Press also sent a request for comment to Jim McNeill, a UAW spokesman.
Legionnaires’ disease is a serious serious form of pneumonia, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which notes that the bacteria that cause the illness can become a health concern when they grow and spread in human-made building water systems.
As of Aug. 5, state health records show there have been 226 cases of Legionnaires’ reported so far this year in Michigan.
The illness does not generally spread from person to person but that may be possible in rare circumstances, the CDC said on its website.
Chelsea Wuth, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, referred a Free Press reporter seeking additional information to the Macomb County Health Department, where messages seeking comment were left via email and phone call.
Spokespeople at Ford and General Motors indicated there are no known cases of Legionnaires’ at either automaker’s facilities.
There have been some notable cases of Legionnaires’ disease or instances where the bacteria were found in Michigan in recent years:
∎ A massive outbreak was identified in 90 people from 2014-15 tied to a water tower at McLaren Flint Hospital. Twelve people died, with 10 of them having known exposure to McLaren Flint Hospital.
∎ Legionella bacteria was discovered in a water tower in 2019 on the Wayne State campus, though no cases were associated with that. A year earlier, however, two contractors working in construction — building new apartments on campus, contracted Legionnaires’ along with an employee at the WSU Faculty Administration Building. The same year (2018), legionella bacteria was detected in the cooling towers used for four campus buildings — Shapero Hall, Scott Hall, the Applebaum Building and the Cohn Building. It also was identified in three bathrooms in 2018 on campus in Scott Hall, Cohn and the Faculty Administration Building:
∎ In 2019, Legionella bacteria was found in three hot water tanks at Ford Motor Co.’s Dearborn Diversified Manufacturing Plant, which employed about 700 people at the time and is among several plants at the Rouge Complex. At the time, the company was not aware of any cases of Legionnaires’ disease associated with the hot water tanks.
Free Press staff writers Kristen Jordan Shamus, Christina Hall, Jamie L. LaReau and Phoebe Wall Howard contributed to this report.
Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber.