Fw: NTM Sometimes Transmitted Through Hot Tubs, Indoor Swimming Pools

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----- Original Message -----

From: " Gruener, Jordan " <GruenerJ@...>

Sent: Thursday, March 23, 2000 3:08 PM

Subject: NTM Sometimes Transmitted Through Hot Tubs, Indoor Swimming Pools

> NATIONAL JEWISH NEWSNET

> 75th Distribution

>

> March 23, 2000

> ------------------------------

> NATIONAL JEWISH/DISEASE INFORMATION: (800) 222-LUNG

> DISEASE QUESTIONS: mailto:lungline@...

> WEB SITE: http://www.nationaljewish.org/pa

> MEDIA CONTACT: Jordan Gruener, (303) 398-1002

>

> Nontuberculosis Mycobacteria Sometimes Transmitted Through Hot Tubs,

Indoor

> Swimming Pools

>

> DENVER-A healthy, middle-aged man falls sick after breathing the mist

> produced by an indoor hot tub. A healthy, middle-aged woman contracts a

> mysterious lung disease after regularly swimming laps in her indoor pool.

> Other than having indoor water features, they have nothing in common.

> This isn't an episode of the television program, The X-Files. For

> many people, these bacteria surface not as a plot device, but as a very

> serious health threat. At National Jewish Medical and Research Center,

> doctors have been treating more and more people with a lung disease called

> nontuberculosis mycobacteria (NTM).

> Regular exposure to certain NTM-mycobacterium avium and

> mycobacterium chelonae are particularly rapidly-growing and pervasive

> strains-that thrive in a floating " slime layer " found in hot water

heaters,

> and indoor pools, waterfalls and hot tubs can cause lung disease. Although

> most patients with NTM have no history of indoor hot tub or pool use,

> National Jewish doctors are aware that these environments may predispose

> people to these infections.

> " Once infected, it is very difficult to completely get rid of the

> infection, " says Peloquin, Pharm.D., director of Pharmacokinetics

at

> National Jewish and a researcher exploring the effectiveness of new drugs

to

> treat the disease. " It's very, very tough. "

> Treatment of mycobacterium avium and mycobacterium chelonae is difficult.

> Effective treatment requires three to four antibiotics given at once,

> sometimes intravenously. In some cases, physicians are forced to

surgically

> remove a portion of a patient's lung to stop the disease.

> Not only tough to treat, NTM can be a danger in hot tubs, indoor

> pools or waterfalls that haven't been used in some time. The bacteria

thrive

> in the pipes and standing water. " They can lay dormant and when put in the

> right environment can wake up again, " says Gwen Huitt, M.D., a National

> Jewish physician who treats people with the lung disease.

> Mycobacteria avium is one of a group of NTM found in the environment

> and the most prevalent kind throughout the United States. (Southeastern

> states have more than double the number of cases reported than any other

> region in the county.) Unlike tuberculosis, transmitted from infected

> humans, NTM is contracted through water and soil, and is not contagious.

In

> nature, these organisms live in brackish ocean water, like tide pools.

> But indoor waterfalls, hot tubs or swimming pools-all of which

> produce a substantial mist-are causing this lung disease to become more

> prevalent. " These organisms are water-loving bugs, " Dr. Peloquin says.

These

> organisms enter the air when a mist, called aerosolization, is produced

and

> the bacteria are suspended in water droplets.

> " You circulate this high quantity of bacteria and then people breath

> it in, " Dr. Huitt adds. " The bacteria are suspended in these vapor

droplets

> and then family in other rooms may inhale them. "

> Turning a faucet is probably the easiest way to be exposed. " If you turn

on

> your shower you can aerosolize these organisms, " he says. Adding, " If

you're

> healthy it may mean nothing to be exposed to the bacteria. But if you

> already have lung disease you may have a greater chance of becoming

infected

> with an NTM. "

> For people infected with either organism, symptoms include fever,

tiredness,

> night sweats, cough and weight loss. NTM is increasingly found among

> Caucasian women with no history of smoking. " These women tend to be thin,

> tall and middle-aged or older, " Dr. Peloquin says.

> For more information on this topic or related topics, call LUNG

> LINE*, (800) 222-LUNG, e-mail, lungline@... or visit,

> www.nationaljewish.org/pa.

>

> EDITOR'S NOTE: Of the more than 40 known types of NTM, mycobacteria avium

is

> the most common throughout the United States. Overall, the highest

incidence

> of NTM is found in the southeastern United States, according to a 1999

> report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

>

> Jordan Gruener, APR

> Media Relations Manager

> National Jewish Medical and Research Center

> PH: 303-398-1002 FAX: 303-398-1125

> http://www.nationaljewish.org/pa

> gruenerj@...

>

> > The Number 1 Respiratory Hospital in the U.S. for Two Consecutive Years,

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