Three Kanawha County residents have contracted Legionnaires' disease in recent weeks, the county's health director said Tuesday.

A woman has died, and another woman and a man were in intensive care units in local hospitals, said Dr. Kerry Gateley, executive director of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department. 

Tests confirmed that the patients contracted the Legionella bacteria that cause Legionnaires' disease, Gateley said. 

Health department officials have started an investigation. They're unsure how the patients were exposed to the disease.

"What catches our notice is three cases over a two-week period," Gateley said. "We're talking to [patients'] family and friends to see if they have any exposures in common. There are a lot of questions that have to be asked."

Two of the residents live in eastern Kanawha County near Marmet and Chelyan, the other in South Charleston.

Gateley said the patients apparently didn't know one another or work together.

"With the preliminary information we've got, no [connection] has cropped up," he said. "It's going to require a more thorough examination."

Gateley said two or three Kanawha County residents contract Legionnaires' disease every year, but not usually at the same time. 

"It may be by chance, or there may be some sort of association," Gateley said. "We have to find that out."

People with Legionnaires' disease have symptoms that resemble pneumonia - high fever, chills and a cough, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Some people may also experience headaches and muscle aches.

Three Kanawha County residents have contracted Legionnaires' disease in recent weeks, the county's health director said Tuesday.

A woman has died, and another woman and a man were in intensive care units in local hospitals, said Dr. Kerry Gateley, executive director of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department. 

Tests confirmed that the patients contracted the Legionella bacteria that cause Legionnaires' disease, Gateley said. 

Health department officials have started an investigation. They're unsure how the patients were exposed to the disease.

"What catches our notice is three cases over a two-week period," Gateley said. "We're talking to [patients'] family and friends to see if they have any exposures in common. There are a lot of questions that have to be asked."

Two of the residents live in eastern Kanawha County near Marmet and Chelyan, the other in South Charleston.

Gateley said the patients apparently didn't know one another or work together.

"With the preliminary information we've got, no [connection] has cropped up," he said. "It's going to require a more thorough examination."

Gateley said two or three Kanawha County residents contract Legionnaires' disease every year, but not usually at the same time. 

"It may be by chance, or there may be some sort of association," Gateley said. "We have to find that out."

People with Legionnaires' disease have symptoms that resemble pneumonia - high fever, chills and a cough, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Some people may also experience headaches and muscle aches.

A urine or blood test is used to confirm the disease.

Gateley said people who develop symptoms of the disease should see their doctor immediately. Older adults, smokers and people with chronic lung disease are the most at risk of getting sick from the bacteria.

Legionnaires' disease can cause death in 5 percent to 30 percent of cases, the CDC says. Most people can be treated successfully with antibiotic drugs.

The Legionella bacteria grows best in warm water, such as the kind found in hot tubs, hot water tanks, plumbing systems and large air-conditioning units atop buildings, according to the CDC.

"The organism is everywhere," Gateley said.

People get Legionnaires' disease when they breathe in mist or vapor contaminated with the bacteria. The disease can't be spread from person to person.

The bacteria got its name in 1976, when 221 people contracted the disease during an American Legion convention in Philadelphia. Thirty-four people eventually died.

Every year, 8,000 to 18,000 people with Legionnaires' disease are admitted to hospitals in the United States.

Most confirmed cases happen in the summer and early fall. "You expect to see more cases in the warmer months," Gateley said.

On Tuesday, Gateley talked to state health officials who told him they weren't aware of any additional recent reports of Legionnaires' disease in West Virginia.

Reach Eric Eyre at erice...@wvgazette.com or 348-4869