No Legionnaire’s Eruption Expected

Washington state health officials are discounting speculation that legionella bacteria found in surface water around Mt. St. Helens volcano constitute a health hazard to tourists or workers in the area.

Legionella bacteria can cause both the frequently fatal Legionnaire’s disease or milder flu-like symptoms

Jack Allard, head of the state’s public health laboratory, said there has never been a confirmed case of Legionnaire’s disease or the milder legionella ailment from water near the volcano. But he acknowledged that studies have found more legionella in water near the volcano than at any other place tested in the state.

“We have had no sign of illness on the mountain and don’t even know that we had any to start with,” he said.

Alene Jacques of the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers in Portland, Ore., said, “We have had people go up there for the past six years without a problem and if we felt a problem existed today we would shut it down immediately.”