Amidst the ongoing lead poisoning crisis related to toxic water in Flint, Mich., residents received more troubling news from Gov. Rick Snyder at a Wednesday press conference: In the two years since Flint diverted its water supply from the Detroit water system to the Flint River, there has been an uptick in cases of Legionnaires' Disease in Genesee County. At least 87 residents developed Legionnaires' disease, of which 10 cases were fatal, from June 2014 to November 2015, compared to only 13 cases in the preceding four years.
While the increase in Legionnaires cases does coincide with the timeline of the city's water problems, the switch from Detroit's Lake Huron water to Flint River water can't be directly blamed for the uptick, said Nick Lyon, director of the Michigan HHS, according to a CNN report.
Health department representatives have said that GeneseeCounty water is safe to bathe in, but the National Guard was called into Flint Wednesday morning to help distribute bottled water and water filters to mitigate further risk of lead poisoning cases.